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Amazon Prime Teams Up With PBS Kids For Exclusive Streaming Rights For Children’s Shows

By Susan Macdonald
Published on: 17:19 PST, Jul 1, 2016

Amazon Prime announced Friday, July 1, that it has signed a deal with PBS Kids, granting them exclusive rights to many of PBS Kids’ most popular children’s television shows. The Los Angeles Times reported that Amazon Prime had signed a multi-year contract to provide its subscribers with children’s television shows from PBS Kids. Most of the shows that Amazon Prime has contracted for are intended for a pre-school audience, but there are also some shows aimed at elementary school children.

“Amazon said the PBS Kids titles included in the deal would be available for Prime members to watch via the Amazon Video app on TVs, mobile devices or on computers. Subscribers also would have the ability to download PBS Kids series on iPads, iPhones, Android phones and tablets and Fire tablets for offline viewing.”

Amazon and PBS Kids have been business partners for several years. As The Inquisitr previously reported, Amazon Prime expanded its partnership with PBS in 2013, adding such shows as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Caillou, and The Wild Kratts. This new deal goes even farther, with Amazon Prime having exclusive rights to the majority of PBS Kids’ children’s programming six months after it premieres on PBS.

Many PBS Kids shows which had appeared on Hulu and Netflix will be exclusively appearing on Amazon Prime with this new contract. According to Variety, Amazon Prime will have exclusive rights to more than 20 PBS Kids television programs. Which shows are involved in this contract?

  1. Arthur
  2. Bali
  3. Caillou
  4. Cyberchase
  5. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
  6. Design Squad
  7. Dinosaur Train
  8. Fetch with Ruff Ruffman
  9. Kratts’ Creatures
  10. Martha Speaks
  11. Nature Cat
  12. Odd Squad
  13. Peep and the Big Wide World
  14. Peg + Cat
  15. Postcards from Buster
  16. Reading Rainbow
  17. Ready Jet Go
  18. SciGirls
  19. Wild Kratts
  20. Word Girl
  21. Word World
  22. Zoboomafoo

Brad Beale, vice president of worldwide television acquisition for Amazon, said that Amazon was “committed to making Prime Video the best destination for kids and family programming that will both educate and entertain.”

This team up between Amazon Prime and PBS Kids does not include all PBS shows. Future shows are not included in the contract. Super Why remains with Netflix, although that company is losing other shows that it had been offering its clients, such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, the animated successor to Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow. Curious George will remain with Hulu, but Hulu will lose Arthur and Wild Kratts. Sesame Street, long the flagship program for PBS Kids, has a contract with HBO and will not be going to Amazon Prime. Thomas and Friends, the popular show about Thomas the Tank Engine, will remain available on Amazon, Netflix and Hulu.

Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president and general manager of children’s media and education at PBS, said, “We have been working with them for a long time,” referring to Amazon. She explained that by having so many of PBS Kids’ shows available through Amazon Prime, they hoped to make it easier for parents who use subscription video services to find their shows.

“We are very pleased to be continuing our relationship with Amazon, increasing Prime Video members’ access to our trusted, educational programming.”

“Odd Squad” teaches math skills. [Image via PBS Kids]
Watching on Amazon Video, Hulu, or Netflix allows content to be available when convenient for the viewer, rather than at a set time. PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger explained that many parents wanted children’s programming at a time when most PBS stations don’t run it, according to an article in The Inquisitr.

“Parents say that the time they want public television content is during early evening hours when everyone is just getting home, and they’re trying to make dinner, and we’re not there.”

The New York Times reported children are watching fewer hours of television on an actual TV set. More parents prefer their children to watch DVDs, digital platforms, or streaming services. With the profanity and violence on television, many parents are happier if their children watch their favorite shows on a tablet or smartphone rather than on TV.

[Image via PBS Kids]

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