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Amazon Prime Strikes Deal for Most PBS Children’s Shows
- russnewcomer 10y agoI really hope that either a) the PBS Kids app on the Apple TV still has a couple shows or b) Amazon and Apple work out their differences and get Amazon Video on the Apple TV, because my 16 month old gets to watch TV the only time a day for 15 minutes of Daniel Tiger everyday before his nap. He's such a creature of habit that I'd probably have to go get a Fire TV Stick or make significant changes to my home network so AirPlay worked with that TV, otherwise my wife have a month of struggle to get him adjusted to a new routine.
- rexreed 10y agoThe article states: "All of the titles moving to Amazon will still be broadcast on local PBS stations, on PBS’s website and the PBS Kids Video app."
- russnewcomer 10y agoWhew. The article must have been updated after I read it, because that statement isn't in my cached copy of the article.
- sillypog 10y agoI totally missed that. I must have blacked out from my rage. Thank you for your clarity!
- Twirrim 10y agoDamn. That explains why Dinosaur Train and Daniel Tiger are no longer on Netflix today. That's frustrating.
- sp332 10y agoNot sure if this helps with your platform, but those are both available on the PBS Kids Video app.
- Steltek 10y agoFun fact, the "dinosaur" family in Dinosaur Train are not actually dinosaurs, scientifically speaking. Of course, no self respecting 3yo will ever accept your explanation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteranodon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteranodon
- Twirrim 10y agoOf course. Just like I have difficult explaining to her just how crazy it is that a T-Rex egg not only ended up in a Pteranodon nest, but also somehow got adopted by them. Pteranodon would be ideal prey for a T-Rex, there's just no way Mrs Pteranodon would ever keep Buddy around.
- nubs 10y agoI dunno, raise the T-Rex up and have it be able to protect you. Classic Lion King type story there with Timon & Pumbaa using Simba. ;)
- rbanffy 10y agoMrs Pteranodon just gave buddy a loving family. Love works miracles. ;-) And, apart from the fiction, it's good. My daughter learned that flowers didn't exist yet in the Jurassic.
- acheron 10y agoThis is definitely covered in one of the episodes. I believe there is a song called "that's not a dinosaur!" (HN: your source for kids' TV information)
- techdmn 10y agoMy feeling is that since PBS is largely funded by taxes and donations, all their content should be available freely just about anywhere. They really ought to publish directly to YouTube as well.
- Retric 10y agoIMO, there is a large gap between taxes and donations. Taxpayers would be better served by open access, but donors may feel funding for PBS is a better option. As taxpayers are only 15 percent and this may reduce PBS's funding needs it's probably a good approach to licence the content widely for a reasonable cost.
- JshWright 10y agoIt _was_ widely available, on Hulu and Netflix. Swapping those two ubiquitous services our for Amazon Instant Video is a dramatic decrease in availability, given the limited number of devices that Amazon allows access on (i.e. no Chromecase, no Apple TV, etc).
- op00to 10y agoCan't you cast from the Amazon app on your Android and iOS phone?
- JshWright 10y agoNope. Amazon does not support Chromecast. You _could_ load it in your browser and cast the tab, but the quality is terrible and you end up playing it in two places...
- superuser2 10y agoI end up connecting my computer to the TV with an HDMI cable. Even then, I remember at one point it didn't approve of the make/model of the TV and would only play in 480p.
- tootie 10y agoThey've had a ton of PBS content for a long time. I actually just lost 5 seasons of Wild Kratts today.
- ajford 10y agoAnd this is why so many people pirate. I pay for these services, and get no notification. I feel justified as long as it's on one of the services I pay for (Amazon, Netflix, Hulu), since I don't feel like having to remember which damn app to use. Nor can I get me 5yo to grasp it either. So I use Kodi and a file server. Now my son can choose what he wants to watch, which makes him so happy. He'd much rather get the remote and change it himself than ask us to change it for him.
- electriclove 10y ago"Amazon Prime reached a deal to become the exclusive premium streaming service " The exclusivity is a real problem! And with something like PBS??? My family uses Netflix to watch many PBS shows like Dinosaur Train and now can't do that anymore. Screw you Amazon! Edited to add: And Screw you PBS!
- maroonblazer 10y ago>Screw you Amazon! Don't you mean "Screw you PBS!"?
- goldenkey 10y agoIt takes two parties to make a deal. And when one of them is a huge corp like Amazon, it is more plausible that PBS was "made an offer they couldn't refuse." Amazon is known to use underhanded tactics to monopolize markets. (Ie. Removing competitor items from their stores.)
- JshWright 10y agoAmazon is the one who chooses to block access on a wide range of media players (Chromecast, Apple TV, etc), in order to try to push their Fire TV platform. We are Amazon Prime subscribers, and I wouldn't mind this a bit if I didn't have to either use an arcane interface on my BluRay player, or buy a separate dedicated media play in order to watch Amazon content.
- georgestephanis 10y agoWhy not just use the PBS Kids app? My daughter adores it.
- r00fus 10y agoDoes it have past episodes of all the shows?
- GFK_of_xmaspast 10y agoMaybe if PBS was better funded thru all channels they wouldn't feel the need to do this.
- clentaminator 10y agoI can't help but imagine a future where every single resource that we consume will provided by one of a small number of megacorps (gigacorps?) and branded, right down to the home that you live in, the people that teach your children, the food you eat, the water you drink, and the air that you breathe. "Amazon Air. For a lighter, purer you."
- c0ur7n3y 10y ago"Apple iWater. Drink it for life."
- clentaminator 10y ago"Drink different"
- DiabloD3 10y ago"IT'S WHAT PLANTS CRAVE"
- goldenkey 10y agoNaturally formulated with iHemo and iElectrolytes. Dive underwater for up to an hour and power your implanted devices for 2 full days! iWater contains synthetic oxygenated liposomes along with other patented technology.
- GabrielF00 10y agoLike Perri-Air? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiabeNR_q0U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiabeNR_q0U
- peterkshultz 10y agoI'm curious to see if this deal will get the same amount of backlash over Sesame Street's partnership with HBO.
- dpcan 10y agoI appreciate that they made a "deal". While there are reasons for giving it all away because it's public and paid for with taxes and donations, I think this just means that they will be able to produce more and better content for a longer period of time. That being said, there are a few moments in parenting that are especially magical: 1) When the kids don't need diapers anymore. 2) When they stop wanting to watch these kid shows.
- covercash 10y agoI think that Mister Rogers' Neighborhood should be mandatory viewing for all children throughout the world. The show at its core teaches empathy, unlike a lot of children's programming these days that have the primary goal of selling merchandise. If anyone is interested, there's a wonderful 4.5 hour interview with Fred Rogers: http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/fred-rogers# http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/fred-rogers#
- illumin8 10y agoDaniel Tiger's neighborhood is also a great show that takes a lot of the music and lessons from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, but is an updated and animated version of it. I've always been very impressed with the music and talent of the musicians he had on his show - they actually played live during most of the shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peDn6XQ3bjI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peDn6XQ3bjI for an example.
- colinthompson 10y agoAmazing. Thanks for sharing. Also, +1 on Daniel Tiger's neighborhood. One of the few shows my 2.5 year old is allowed to watch, since the vast majority of them are trying to sell something, or promote disturbing body image messages, etc.
- gggggggggg 10y agoScrew Amazon, I was a customer for over 10 years, have every single Kindle model, bought dozens of thousands in goods. Few days ago I got an email that my account was disabled (and i can not login) due to a billing issue. Seems my bank thought one of the purchases was suspicious. I rang but the customer support person on phone was an idiot. I replied to the email offering to sort out any billing issues but all I got was an automated reply. Screw Amazon, just lost a good longtime customer due to stupidity of employees and whatever genius programmed whatever automated system decided to disable my account.
- stelfer 10y agoHope this means we get to see Voyage of the Mimi again.
- bloaf 10y agoMeanwhile, I'm just waiting for anyone to put all the episodes of Long Ago and Far Away [1] online. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Ago_and_Far_Away_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Ago_and_Far_Away_(TV_seri...
- sillypog 10y agoI'm sure everyone will enjoy explaining to their toddlers why they can't watch Daniel Tiger anymore. We actually have Amazon Prime, but I had been streaming Daniel Tiger to the television over a Chromecast using the Hulu app on an iPad. I don't think Amazon Prime works with Chromecast so now I have to look into an alternative, equally convoluted, option.
- WillPostForFood 10y agoI recommend you get a game console - all three current and last generation consoles support Amazon video (Wii/Wii U/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One). Plus they can play games.
- FraaJad 10y agoOr a cheaper option of a blue ray player (I have a six year old sony blue ray player which has the Amazon video app )which you can probably get now for under $50.
- JshWright 10y agoAnd 37 menu navigation options later (including the always fun 'spell words like you're texting in 1997' search functionality) you can finally watch something. As opposed to the 'use the native UI on your phone, then hit one button to cast it' experience. We are Amazon Prime subscribers, but I can't remember the last time we watched anything on Amazon Prime Instant Video... it's just too much of a hassle...
- sillypog 10y agoThis is definitely why I prefer the Chromecast experience over loading Hulu through the PS3 (which is actually also pretty good, given that Daniel Tiger is always on the front page). It's a small difference, but when trying to get myself and my daughter ready in the morning, any reduction in friction is appreciated.
- ktu100 10y agoOn this topic, I am working on an app that aggregates toddler music videos or nursery rhythms. It will help to occupy the child when parents are temporarily busy or calm them down in public areas. However, I have no experience in the music / video industry. I am starting with the simplest solution: embed Youtube videos. What can I do to allow parents to legally download the videos for offline viewing? (willing partnership, free public content, have my own production, ...). The songs I am looking for are ABC, Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, etc. Would appreciate any feedbacks!
- aresant 10y ago"Much of PBS Kids programming . . . will be REMOVED from rival streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu, and will be available only on Amazon Prime." Oh goody. So now instead of being able to use Netflix via Apple TV to watch her favorite PBS show my 5 year old is going to have to figure out how to bring up Amazon Prime through the shitty Samsung TV interface. Or better yet maybe I'll have to buy another device that will be obsolete in a year. This Amazon / Apple bs war of not supporting eachother's devices has got to stop, it sets a terrible precedence which seem to be aimed at protecting the devices which are so incredibly commoditized! Apple - please just let us have an Amazon app on Apple TV. Is it such a protective move when I can just airplay prime from an iphone / ipad / macbook to apple tv?
- rhino369 10y agoMaybe it's time for app nuetrality along side net nuetrality.
- cmdrfred 10y agoIts called linux.
- nathancahill 10y agoI'd just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
- cmdrfred 10y agoThanks Richard.
- JshWright 10y agoSame here, just s/Apple TV/Chromecast/ While we are Amazon Prime subscribers, the hassle of actually watching anything on Amazon Prime Instant Video means we never bother. I think we have a BluRay player that is technically capable of it, but it's a couple minutes worth of annoying menu navigation to use it... My three year old has an old android phone that she has no trouble casting from. Fortunately, it seems the PBS Kids app will still work.
- vblord 10y agoI love Amazon. I like Netflix. I haven't tried HBO go yet. Here's my problem with this... which may not be the actual point of this article. Amazon is going to remove PBS shows from competitors (like Netflix). I understand why Amazon would want to do this, but from a consumer aspect, it sucks having to get Orange is the new Black from Netflix, Silicon Valley from HBO, and Elmo from Amazon. To see shows fragmented across different digital providers is what bothers me. I wish they all could have access to all of them. So I could pick my provider and know that everything I want to watch is at that provider. This allows me to switch between Dish Network and DirectTV without too much inconvenience. When providers get shows to blacklist other providers, that fragmentation would cause me to have to now purchase multiple providers. I (as a consumer) do not like this.
- bsharitt 10y agoI've gotten to the point where I don't care if Netflix or Hulu get an exclusive for series or movies, but it really annoys me when Amazon does. Exclusives are a way for them to sell subscriptions and I get that. For Netflix and Hulu, they both work really hard to basically make their content available everywhere. I think nearly every one of my devices capable of playing video down to Nintendo 2DSs can have Netflix and Hulu. The problem with Amazon that they seem to be more about pushing the hardware by limiting where the service is available. Amazon Instant video was unavailable on Android tablets for a very long time because Amazon wanted to push Kindle Fires and now we're seeing the same thing for Chromecast and AppleTV to push FireTV devices. And then there's the auxiliary complaint with Amazon instant video where when you do actually have a device that supports it, the subscription content is mixed in with rent and purchase content.
- rbanffy 10y agoShouldn't PBS programming be... erm... publicly... available? I have the impression their charter mandates them to operate for a public good and it eludes me how allowing a single company have a digital distribution monopoly on its... public programming furthers that goal.
- michaelbuddy 10y agoAmazon UI is terrible. PBS is making a huge mistake. Children don't use amazon prime and parent's aren't going to suddenly like using it because of the kids shows. Watch the clicks disappear by 60% overnight.