Mere days after Amazon UK announced that they would be re-branding LOVEFiLM to Amazon Prime Instant Video on February 26th, the company has also announced its first content deal for the re-branded streaming service.
Amazon has reached a deal with Warner Bros International Television Distribution for the SVOD rights to five network shows – all of which have previously been picked up by traditional UK broadcasters. The multi-season deal with WBITD covers Arrow, The Following, Hostages, The 100 and Revolution.
The first seasons of Arrow and Revolution will launch on Amazon Prime Instant Video in July, the first season of The Following launches later this year, while Hostages and The 100 will follow in 2015. Subsequent seasons of all five shows will be added following their linear broadcasts on UK television.
“We are incredibly excited to bring these critically acclaimed shows to UK TV fans when they arrive on Prime Instant Video, Britain’s largest subscription streaming service, later this year,” said Jason Ropell, Head of Amazon Instant Video International Content Acquisition.
While Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution, added: “We are very pleased to extend and develop our relationship with Amazon in a deal that demonstrates the growing appetite for SVOD rights to our TV shows in the UK. UK viewers can now look forward to either re-watching or discovering these quality series on the Prime Instant Video streaming service in the coming months and years.”
The acquisition of these shows is the latest in a number of moves by Amazon to increase their competition with Netflix in the UK market. Such moves have included the re-branding of LOVEFiLM to Amazon Prime Instant Video – the same name under which the service operates in the United States; the acquisition of exclusive content for the UK such as BBC America’s Copper, History’s Vikings and the TF1/Tandem series Crossing Lines. It also comes after the release of Amazon’s latest batch of pilots and ahead of launch of Amazon Original series Alpha House and Betas, which will premiere in the UK later this year.
