Amazon Expands Agreement with PBS to Bring Even More Popular TV Shows to Prime Instant Video

(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon.com today announced an expanded multi-year licensing agreement with PBS Distribution that will allow Amazon Prime members to instantly stream, at no additional cost, past seasons of PBS programs. Prime Instant Video will now have hundreds of additional episodes of popular PBS programs including NOVA, Masterpiece and Ken Burns documentaries along with even more great PBS KIDS shows like Caillou, Arthur, Daniels Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts.

All shows from PBS KIDS that are available on Prime Instant Video will be available in Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, a service built just for kids that gives them the freedom to explore all their favorite books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows, while providing parents with the tools they need to manage their kids’ screen time.

In addition, Prime Instant Video is now the exclusive video subscription home of the third season of Carnival/MASTERPIECE co-production Downton Abbey, and as announced in January, Prime Instant Video will become the exclusive video subscription home for all seasons of Downton Abbey later this year.

“This deal is exciting for Prime members and particularly for those with families—this new deal combined with the recently announced Viacom deal brings some of the most popular kids programming to Prime Instant Video, making it the perfect place for the whole family to catch up on all their favorites,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “Not to mention, Downton Abbey is continually one of the most watched shows of all time on Prime Instant Video. Prime Instant Video will soon become the only video subscription service to exclusively offer all seasons, current and future, of Downton Abbey—something we know our customers will love.”

“PBS stations will always be the first place to see our premier content,” said Jason Seiken, General Manager, PBS Digital. “Giving viewers access to our library of past programs through digital platforms like Prime Instant Video complements our broadcast service and is an important part of our strategy to reach new audiences. By expanding our relationship with Amazon we are giving PBS viewers additional ways to enjoy their favorite programs on the go or in their home, whenever they want—and providing them with even more reasons to tune into their local PBS station.”

Prime Instant Video offers more than 41,000 movies and TV episodes for Prime members to stream on Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other connected TVs and devices—at no additional cost. Later this month, Prime Instant Video will become the exclusive home to the highly anticipated CBS summer series Under the Dome, with each episode added just four days after initial broadcast. Also announced in early June was a digital video subscription deal with Viacom bringing hundreds of top kids shows like Dora the Explorer, Go Diego, Go!, and The Backyardigans exclusively to Prime Instant Video. To sign up for Amazon Prime, visit www.amazon.com/primeinstantvideo.

About Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is the best bargain in the history of shopping. Prime is an annual membership program for $79 a year that offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items including books, home and garden products, electronics, video games, clothing, and much more. Amazon Prime members also get access to unlimited instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows and access to hundreds of thousands of books to borrow for free, as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates from a Kindle device. Customers who receive free Prime shipping benefits through our Amazon Student or Amazon Mom programs can upgrade to an annual paid membership to receive Amazon Prime’s digital benefits.

About Amazon Instant Video

Amazon Instant Video is a digital video streaming and download service that offers Amazon customers the ability to rent, purchase or subscribe to a huge catalog of videos. Customers can choose from more than 150,000 titles to purchase or rent—movies range from new releases to classic favorites, and Amazon Instant Video offers major television shows, entire seasons, or even day after air TV. Prime Instant Video is Amazon’s video subscription offer—it includes more than 41,000 movies and TV episodes selected from the full assortment available at Amazon Instant Video.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7” and 8.9”. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, www.amazon.es, www.amazon.com.br and www.amazon.in. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Amazon Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.