Netflix Announces Expanded Deal With PBS

Now it's Netflix's turn.

The company announced an expanded deal with PBS on Wednesday that will make it the exclusive subscription streaming service for all seasons of "The Bletchley Circle," a U.K. drama, as well as "Super Why," a computer-animated series for preschoolers.

"The Bletchley Circle," a murder mystery series that premiered on PBS in April, will become available on Netflix in the fall. "Super Why," already available on Netflix as well as on rivals Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime Instant Video, will become exclusive to Netflix beginning next year.

Netflix also said it will have new documentaries from Ken Burns, including "Central Park Five."

The deal, an extension of an existing agreement between PBS and Netflix, includes additional episodes of titles already available for streaming on Netflix, including the science series NOVA and the children's shows "Arthur" and "Caillou."

The Netflix announcement follows last week's news that Amazon had inked an expanded deal with PBS. That agreement will bring some of the same shows -- NOVA, "Arthur," and "Caillou," to name a few -- to the retail giant's Amazon Prime Instant Video service. It's unclear at this point if the competing streaming services will have the same episodes of these shows.

Netflix and Amazon have been taking turns of late announcing new content deals. Last month, Amazon said it had reached an agreement with Viacom to be bring Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows like "Dora The Explorer," "Little Bear," and "Blue's Clues" to Amazon Prime Instant Video. Weeks later, Netflix countered with a deal with Dreamworks Animation to create television shows based on characters from the company's popular movies, which include "Shrek," "Madagascar," and "Kung Fu Panda."

Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus, the leading paid streaming services in the U.S., are fighting for subscribers as people increasingly stream video content on their televisions and mobile devices. In an attempt to attract new members, all three companies are investing millions in original programming.