Arlington, VA — September 15 – On September 15, 2020 PBS Distribution is launching its streaming channel, PBS MASTERPIECE, on Amazon Prime Video Channels for Canada. Much like its U.S. counterpart, this subscription based streaming channel will include the latest episodes of world-class British dramas and award-winning series. MASTERPIECE has been setting the standard for exceptional British drama in the U.S. for 50 years and PBS MASTERPIECE on Prime Video Channels continues this legacy and has expanded to include award-winning TV series from around the world, including programs from the Walter Presents library. The announcement was made today by Andrea Downing, Co-President of PBS Distribution.
Andrea Downing states, “We have seen tremendous consumer demand and subscription growth since we launched PBS MASTERPIECE on Amazon Prime Video Channels in the United States in May of 2017. This expansion allows our committed and loyal MASTERPIECE fan base in Canada to enjoy these high-quality, award winning programs whenever they like.”
The channel will launch with a broad variety of programs available to subscribers including popular MASTERPIECE programs such as “Sanditon,”“Endeavour,” “Home Fires,” “Inspector Lewis,” “Poldark” and “Victoria.”
In addition to MASTERPIECE programming, the Channel will also offer titles from the Walter Presents library. Walter Presents is a hand selected library of award-winning and ratings record breaking series from countries all over the world, subtitled in English. This marks the debut of Walter Presents programs to Canadian audiences. Titles include the highest-rated drama in Denmark, “Seaside Hotel,” and crime thriller/mysteries: “Professor T,” “Though Shall Not Kill,” and “Before we Die” among many others.
Walter Iuzzolino, co-founder and curator of Walter Presents adds “I am genuinely thrilled to be launching Walter Presents in Canada, with its rich, bi-lingual culture and its history of active engagement with the world as well as its long-standing appreciation of world drama. I know Canadian audiences will embrace our collection of quality, award-winning series with a sense of curiosity and with real gusto.”
PBS MASTERPIECE is launching on September 15, 2020 and be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video Channels. The subscription rate for PBSMASTERPIECE in Canada will be CDN $6.99/month with an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription. Every purchase helps support public television for all.
Select programs are also available for streaming in PBS Passport, a member benefit available within the PBS Video App that gives viewers extended access to high-quality content. The PBS Passport library is also full of public television’s acclaimed drama, arts, science, history and lifestyle programs (contact your local PBS station for details).
About PBS Masterpiece on Prime Video Channels
The PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel is a DTC-SVOD channel exclusive to Prime Video tMASTERPIECE has been setting the standard for exceptional British drama for 50 years and PBS MASTERPIECE on Prime Video Channels continues this legacy and has expanded to include award-winning TV series from around the world – all carefully curated for ‘viewers like you’.
About Masterpiece
Winner of 83 Primetime Emmys and 18 Peabody Awards, MASTERPIECE has been essential Sunday night viewing for millions of fans since 1971. Rebecca Eaton is the Executive Producer-at-Large. Susanne Simpson is the Executive Producer of the series. Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust. Presented on PBS by WGBH Boston, MASTERPIECE is known for recent hits such as Sherlock, Downton Abbey and Victoria, and beloved classics such as Upstairs Downtstairs, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga and Poldark.
About Walter Presents
Walter Presents launched in January 2016 in the U.K. as a video-on-demand service and is a joint venture between Channel 4 and Global Series Network, founded by Jason Thorp, Walter Iuzzolino and Jo McGrath. Dedicated to showcasing award-winning foreign language drama, the service is named after its curator, Walter Iuzzolino, a passionate drama fan. In March 2017, Walter Presents launched as an SVOD platform in the U.S., with the New York Times hailing it as a “chic TV boutique with a foreign accent.” In November 2017, Walter Presents launched in Australia through pay TV service Foxtel, and in Italy in September 2018, it launched its first roll-out in mainland Europe on Discovery’s Nove, Giallo and Dplay channels. In October 2018, Walter Presents partnered with PBS Distribution to launch over 300 hours of quality foreign language dram on the MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel. Walter’s Choice is a selection of the Walter Presents programming that is made available for air on PBS stations.
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About PBS DISTRIBUTION
PBS Distribution is a leading distributor of public media content around the world, reaching audiences through multiple platforms and formats. The company operates five streaming channels —PBS MASTERPIECE, PBS KIDS, PBS LIVING, PBS DOCUMENTARIES, and PBS America (U.K.). Other services include transactional video-on-demand, subscription video-on-demand licensing, physical products on DVD and Blu-ray, theatrical releasing, educational, non-theatrical, inflight, and international program sales and co-productions.
PBS Distribution offers consumers and educators the highest quality factual, scripted, and children’s programming including films from Ken Burns, hit series from MASTERPIECE and foreign language dramas from Walter Presents, entertaining and educational PBS KIDS series, and award-winning documentaries from NOVA, FRONTLINE, AMERICAN MASTERS, NATURE, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, and many independent producers. For over 10 years, the company has extended the reach of programming beyond broadcast while generating revenue for the public television system, stations, and producers.
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