Key Takeaways
- PBS partners with Amazon to launch free ad-supported TV channels on Prime Video.
- PBS to offer PBS Drama and PBS Documentaries exclusively on Prime Video starting November 26.
- Amazon recently announced it was phasing out it’s own FAST channel Freevee and making the content available for free on Prime Video.
PBS, well known for its local news stations and wide assortment of public programming, will soon be a part of the Prime Video ecosystem. Amazon and PBS have announced a partnership that will bring content from the American public broadcasting service to Prime Video for free.
More than 150 local PBS stations and the PBS KIDS channel will launch ad-free on the service as a FAST channel on Prime Video. This is the first time PBS has ever made its collection of programming available on a major streaming service for free. The channels will launch “over the coming months.”
“This launch marks a significant milestone for PBS in delivering a curated lineup of its high-quality programming from member stations to a broader FAST audience, particularly at a time when two in three U.S. viewers use a FAST platform,” PBS said in a press release.
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PBS is also launching two other FAST channels
You’ll be able to watch PBS dramas and documentaries for free
Pocket-lint
In addition to PBS joining Prime Video as a FAST channel, PBS Distribution will be launching two new FAST channels, PBS Drama and PBS Documentaries, that will be available exclusively on Prime Video for a limited time starting November 26th.
The news of PBS programming coming to Prime Video comes just after Amazon announced it was shutting down Freevee, its own FAST service. The streaming giant is moving over content from Freevee to Prime Video under a new “Watch for Free” category. You don’t need to be a Prime Video subscriber to watch content under this category.
The move is part of a streamlining effort by Amazon to bring more users to Prime Video, and in-turn entice them to subscribe, as its FAST channels will be visible alongside much of its paid programming like its original shows and movies.
PBS recently launched a FAST channel on Roku called PBS Retro, with shows from the 1980s and 1990s, like the all-time classic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Zoboomafoo.
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