Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) Beats Netflix Inc. (NFLX) to ‘The Good Wife’ Streaming Deal

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has made no bones about its interest in expanding its streaming video library for its Amazon Prime Instant Video service. And it seems that while it does not yet have the library that market segment leader Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has developed, but with recent licensing battles, Amazon seems to be making serious inroads – especially landing exclusive deals with popular television shows.

It was announced Wednesday that Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) had secured an exclusive licensing deal with CBS Television for its award-winning primetime series, “The Good Wife,” beating out Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) for another prized show. Amazon.com had earlier secured exclusive rights with the BBC/PBS hit “Downton Abbey.” While it’s one thing to secure the rights to such a popular and critically acclaimed show, but it’s also noteworthy that Amazon.com has convinced CBS to go against its own policy about offering current shows in a streaming-video-on-demand (SVOD) deal.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)As part of the deal, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) will stream the first three full seasons of the series, with the current fourth season being available later this year. The show will be available to Amazon Prime subscribers – those who pay $79 a year for free two-day shipping can also get access to the Instant Video library at no extra charge.

“‘The Good Wife’ has consistently been one of the strongest sellers on Amazon Instant Video, so we know our customers love the show,” said Brad Beale, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) director of digital video content acquisition in announcing the deal.

What do you think? Is Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) facing some trouble in its streaming-video empire? Can Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) take over the market segment? Let us know your thoughts about the Amazon-Netflix rivalry in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.

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