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Amazon Lands CBS Licensing Deal To Stream TV Shows To Instant Video Offering

25 points by tilt 15y ago

smackfu 15y ago
Not current CBS content, back catalog stuff.
kenjackson 15y ago
Good move by Amazon. I think TV back catalog is the right direction for them to go. I think movies can be decently served by streaming rental with reasonable terms (like a 5-day period, rather than 24-48 hours). One thing Amazon needs to really beef up on to compete with Netflix is children's programming. The amount of people I know who use Netflix streaming for their kids to watch Dora and Thomas is pretty crazy. Amazon's top priorities should be: * Nickelodeon * Disney * PBS * HBO/Showtime (not for children's stuff, but just for extremely compelling programming -- but this may be too expensive).
- joelhaus 15y ago
  Very good points, upvoted. Not to nit-pick, but much isn't much of the PBS library already available free online? Also, HBO seems to have an interesting strategy. http://www.hbogo.com http://www.hbogo.com is only available to cable subscribers right now, but one gets the feeling that this is an attempt to bring more viewers online so that, eventually, they will no longer need to rely on the cable monopolies. In my opinion, none of this can happen too soon.
  - kenjackson 15y ago
    Not to nit-pick, but much isn't much of the PBS library already available free online? It might be. I can't find Thomas the Tank Engine, Dinosaur Train, or Bob the Builder programs online, but if you know where they are, I'd be indebted :-) Although still having them through a service that is carried by things like Roku boxes is a big plus, since most TV viewing by my familty is still on the TV. Although I'd consider a GoogleTV box if that was the only way.
shrikant 15y ago
Would be good to know if this is available to international audiences as well. I'd venture that most of the torrenting of popular TV shows happens outside the USA (even the back-catalog ones), in which case this does absolutely nothing to address the issue.
MatthewB 15y ago
I have an Amazon Prime account and I can say that I have never streamed a show from Amazon. I also have Netflix and more recently I am receiving Hulu Plus. What Amazon needs to do is develop for different platforms. They need to be on Xbox, PS3, Wii, TVs, etc. Without that, I am stuck streaming sitting in front of my computer, which I just don't want to do.
- berberich 15y ago
  It works quite well on the Roku, but their interface for browsing is horrible. There's also no recommendations based on previous viewing/rating, as far as I can tell. I use Amazon video far more to rent recent releases than I use it for the free Prime videos. Most, if not all, of them are already available on Netflix streaming.
- jonknee 15y ago
  It's on quite a few TVs already. http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/ontv/ref=sa_menu_aiv_wtv0 http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/ontv/ref=sa_menu_aiv_wtv...

25 points by tilt 15y ago

Not current CBS content, back catalog stuff.

Good move by Amazon. I think TV back catalog is the right direction for them to go. I think movies can be decently served by streaming rental with reasonable terms (like a 5-day period, rather than 24-48 hours). One thing Amazon needs to really beef up on to compete with Netflix is children's programming. The amount of people I know who use Netflix streaming for their kids to watch Dora and Thomas is pretty crazy. Amazon's top priorities should be: * Nickelodeon * Disney * PBS * HBO/Showtime (not for children's stuff, but just for extremely compelling programming -- but this may be too expensive).

joelhaus 15y ago
Very good points, upvoted. Not to nit-pick, but much isn't much of the PBS library already available free online? Also, HBO seems to have an interesting strategy. http://www.hbogo.com http://www.hbogo.com is only available to cable subscribers right now, but one gets the feeling that this is an attempt to bring more viewers online so that, eventually, they will no longer need to rely on the cable monopolies. In my opinion, none of this can happen too soon.
- kenjackson 15y ago
  Not to nit-pick, but much isn't much of the PBS library already available free online? It might be. I can't find Thomas the Tank Engine, Dinosaur Train, or Bob the Builder programs online, but if you know where they are, I'd be indebted :-) Although still having them through a service that is carried by things like Roku boxes is a big plus, since most TV viewing by my familty is still on the TV. Although I'd consider a GoogleTV box if that was the only way.

shrikant 15y ago

Would be good to know if this is available to international audiences as well. I'd venture that most of the torrenting of popular TV shows happens outside the USA (even the back-catalog ones), in which case this does absolutely nothing to address the issue.

MatthewB 15y ago

I have an Amazon Prime account and I can say that I have never streamed a show from Amazon. I also have Netflix and more recently I am receiving Hulu Plus. What Amazon needs to do is develop for different platforms. They need to be on Xbox, PS3, Wii, TVs, etc. Without that, I am stuck streaming sitting in front of my computer, which I just don't want to do.

berberich 15y ago
It works quite well on the Roku, but their interface for browsing is horrible. There's also no recommendations based on previous viewing/rating, as far as I can tell. I use Amazon video far more to rent recent releases than I use it for the free Prime videos. Most, if not all, of them are already available on Netflix streaming.
jonknee 15y ago
It's on quite a few TVs already. http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/ontv/ref=sa_menu_aiv_wtv0 http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/ontv/ref=sa_menu_aiv_wtv...