Amazon Prime Video Adds PBS Documentaries to Channel Lineup, Launches Aug. 4
Amazon Prime Video has added PBS Documentaries to the slew of channels available through the platform. The channel will house Ken Burns’ entire catalog of documentaries, “Nova,” “Frontline,” “American Masters,” “American Experience,” “Nature,” “Independent Lens,” “POV” and more. PBS Documentaries, which will cost $3.99/month for Amazon Prime and Prime video subscribers, launches on Aug. 4.
According to Deadline, adding PBS Documentaries to Prime Video is a way for public television to add new revenue streams and reach wider audiences. The channel will launch with roughly 100 of the “Frontline” docs from the past 38 years. “The art form has become so eclectic and people will have a chance to appreciate the many different approaches to documentary filmmaking,” Burns told Deadline.
PBS Documentaries began coming together last year, revealed Andrea Downing, co-president of PBS Distribution. The division previously launched three other subscription channels: PBS Masterpiece, PBS Kids, which launched in 2016, and PBS Living, which launched in 2019. “The revenue is incredibly important to the system,” stated Downing. “We think we have a really strong product at the right price point.”
Last summer, PBS made their first deal with a Live TV Streaming Service as they struck a deal with YouTube TV. The channel, which launched on the platform in December, became available to 75 percent of households, including New York, Indianapolis, Columbus, Seattle and San Francisco with rollouts continuing into other markets this year.