Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has added a couple of new kids’ programs from PBS to its Prime Instant Video collection, allowing any subscriber of Prime to access “Caillou” and “Dinosaur Train” for free.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is not far behind and has added ‘Mako Mermaids’, which according to Netflix is an offshoot of “H2O — Just Add Water”, a “Global Smash Hit Series” for 8 to 12 year old kids.
Amazon.com and Netflix Adding More Shows
Both Netflix and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are in a race to dominate in the kids segment. The major difference between Amazon and Netflix is that while Amazon’s new shows are not exclusive to the service, Netflix’s programs are exclusive.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) started a series of Disney show in the previous month following which Amazon.com added some Viacom shows after few weeks. The Amazon Viacom shows were previously shown on Netflix.
Netflix offerings include Are We There Yet, TV for Curious Kids, and Family Movie Night, among others.
Amazon.com Increasing Investment
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is increasing investment in order to give Netflix some competition, which is dominating at this point primarily among young subscribers. Amazon entered into a deal with Viacom under which it enriched its content library and added more popular shows for children including Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Square Pants, Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues.
“This deal is exciting for Prime members and particularly for those with families,” Brad Beale, Amazon’s director of digital video content acquisition, said in a statement.
Netflix Also Gearing Up
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), on the other hand, said that its service will include 300 hours of original programming from DreamWorks Animation. This is the first of its type agreement, as for the first time Netflix has made a deal for the original first run content. For DreamWorks, on the other hand, it is the first time that its characters will be shown on television as a branded collection of shows.
Amazon’s FreeTime
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has brought in some more titles in its Kindle Free Time Unlimited Library. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) offers books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows aimed at ages 3 to 8 through its Kindle Free time Unlimited. Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD have the Kindle FreeTime Unlimited segment.
Other features of FreeTIme are that it provides tools to set a time limit on Kindle. The tools allow setting unlimited reading time and limited video watching time.
BothNetflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are trying hard to dominate each other in the kids segment. For busy parents, these instant-anywhere shows can be a savior.
