PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime

Re:PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime by reaperducer on Monday March 18, 2019 @03:10PM (#19424116)

I don't want to pay Amazon tax (additional $10 per month prime fees) to be able to use this service.

If your kids want to watch new episodes of Sesame Street, you already have to pay an HBO tax (varies by geography).

Since 2016, children whose parents can afford HBO get to watch current Sesame Street. Poor kids have to wait for nine months for sloppy seconds on their local PBS station.

Meanwhile, PBS and Sesame Workshop wonder why there are people who don't like how corporate "public" television has become.

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Re:PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime by LeifCarrotson on Monday March 18, 2019 @03:30PM (#19424324)

Side note - parents whose kids have Hulu also get to stream hundreds of episodes of old Sesame Street. I consider this format (streaming, rather than over-the-air HBO or PBS) an advantage, not a disadvantage.

There are no commercials, it can be started or paused on my kid's schedule, and the content is basically the same: there are still the same 26 letters in the alphabet, and The Count only uses 21 numbers, and the developmental subjects are largely the same for kids today as they were 10 or 20 years ago...no need to re-write the textbook each year. True, parents don't get to enjoy visits present-day celebrities, but on the other hand, they might prefer a bit of 90s nostalgia.

I agree that it would be far better if this streaming service were available to everyone for free just as broadcast TV is available.

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Re:PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime by asark on Monday March 18, 2019 @03:47PM (#19424477)

I've found PBS' scattershot streaming strategy really frustrating. There are a few new things I'd like access to, and some of the older programing that's still unmatched (pre-Elmo-takeover Sesame Street, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) but it's hard to figure out where to get all of it. They have Passport but seem to go out of their way to make it hard to figure out WTF I'd actually get paying for that. Full back-catalog, no BS, PBS streaming would be an easy $Netflix/month from me.

Their day-to-day OTA schedule doesn't appeal to me very much, but streaming the handful of current things I want on my own schedule, and access to their killer back-catalog, would be a no-brainer addition to my monthly media spending.

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Re:PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime by Wowfunhappy on Monday March 18, 2019 @03:49PM (#19424497)

> If your kids want to watch new episodes of Sesame Street, you already have to pay an HBO tax (varies by geography).

You specified "new" so you're not wrong per se, but it's worth clarifying: new Sesame Street episodes are exclusive to HBO for six months[1], after which they become available on PBS.

I don't think this is a big deal. Sesame Street content isn't particularly timely, so why should a child care if he/she is six months behind? To be honest, I'm pretty surprised HBO agreed to it in the first place—it feels like they're getting the short end of the stick—although I of course don't know the financial details of the agreement.

[1] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/sesame-street-will-now-p...

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Re:PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime by reaperducer on Monday March 18, 2019 @03:59PM (#19424599)

new Sesame Street episodes are exclusive to HBO for six months[1], after which they become available on PBS.

I went with nine, based on Wikipedia. Not having kids, I don't know which is correct.

why should a child care if he/she is six months behind?

Because children have friends, and they talk to them, and no parent wants to have their kid be the one left out.

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Re:PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime by Wowfunhappy on Monday March 18, 2019 @04:39PM (#19425035)

I don't think this applies much to 3 and 4 year olds.

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Re:PBS Launching Streaming Service on Amazon Prime by yegle on Monday March 18, 2019 @04:44PM (#19425078)

You'll be surprised.

My son never watched "Paw Patrol" but can describe some of the main characters, from his friend in preschool.

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