Amazon Prime brings more PBS content, hits new instant streaming milestone

Amazon continues to build its roster of instant streaming content available to paying Prime customers. A new agreement with PBS puts the company over the 12,000 TV show and movie mark. The service launched in February.

The PBS deal brings more than 1,000 episodes of new television programming to Amazon Prime instant streaming – most notably historical documentaries by Ken Burns. Other shows now available to Prime subscribers include “NOVA,” “Antiques Roadshow” and “Masterpiece.” Amazon even managed to strike a digital exclusivity coup, nabbing 200 episodes of the previously unavailable cooking show “The French Chef” featuring Julia Childs.

While Amazon has a long way to go before it can go toe-to-toe with Netflix’s streaming roster, the company seems determined to get there…eventually.

“Prime instant video has included great content from PBS since the day it launched and Prime members have told us they want even more – so we are delivering,” said Brad Beale, director of video content acquisition for Amazon. “Our expanded relationship with PBS will bring the total number of titles available for Prime instant video to over 12,000.”

Beale confirmed that the Kindle Fire, Amazon’s upcoming $199 media tablet, will boast day one Prime support. More “compelling content” is on the way, he added.

Amazon will barely profit from the sale of the device itself, instead hoping early adopters will use it to patronize its online store. Continually adding new instant videos doesn’t hurt, but the bulk of its business is in physical sales.

Apple execs are likely marking November 15 on their calendars, but for entirely different reasons. Leaked info from Amazon itself revealed the company hopes to sell over 2.5 million units at launch, which could eventually lead to the upstart tablet nipping at the iPad’s successful heels. Apple revealed on Tuesday that it’s sold 40 million iPads worldwide.

With heels that large, Amazon’s nip may be negligible.