Disney sells to Amazon, renews with Netflix
Walt Disney Co. has gotten on the Amazon gravy train.
Looking to acquire content for its video streaming service Prime Instant, Amazon has struck a deal with Disney’s ABC broadcast network as well as its cable channels including Disney Channel, ABC Family and some older shows made by ABC Studios including “Felicity.”
The short-term agreement is much smaller than Disney’s current arrangement with Netflix, but the structure is similar. Like Netflix, Amazon will not get access to current shows in season. In other words, last week’s “Grey’s Anatomy” won’t show up on Prime Instant until a month after the current television season ends.
The Netflix deal, which was also given a short-term renewal by Disney, is broader in terms of content. Amazon gets access only to past episodes of one current ABC series, “Grey’s Anatomy.” Netflix gets past episodes of the medical drama, its spinoff “Private Practice” and “Desperate Housewives.”
Besides Disney, Amazon has also signed agreements with CBS, Fox, Warner Bros., Sony and NBCUniversal. It is making a big push for content to help boost sales of its new Kindle Fire tablet.
-- Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times