One of the biggest suppliers of programming for PBS, WGBH, is the latest to climb aboard Amazon’s television pilot process.
Amazon’s production arm said Wednesday that it had ordered a children’s pilot called “Sara Solves It,” which was co-developed by WGBH (the powerhouse public television station in Boston) and Out of the Blue Enterprises, a production company co-founded by Angela Santomero, whose credits include Nickelodeon’s long-running series “Blue’s Clues.”
“Sara Solves It” is the sixth children’s pilot commissioned by Amazon, which is entering the original television space for the first time. Once the pilot episodes are completed, they will be posted on Amazon’s streaming video service, called Prime Instant Video; viewer feedback will play a role in Amazon’s decisions about which become series, and which get shelved.
WBGH and Ms. Santomero’s willingness to sell their show idea to Amazon attests to Amazon’s willingness to invest in original content
. Carol Greenwald, the senior executive producer of children’s programs for
WGBH, said in a statement, “We are excited to be part of Amazon Studios’ innovative approach of getting high-quality programming directly into the hands of parents and children.”
The new pilot announcement comes at a time of intense rivalry between Amazon and a much bigger streaming video service, Netflix.
Last month, Netflix announced its first step into original children’s programming in cooperation with DreamWorks Animation. DreamWorks is making a cartoon series called “Turbo: F.A.S.T.” for the service, based on its forthcoming film “Turbo.” The film comes out in July; the Netflix series is scheduled to come online in December.
The two streaming services are also competing with programming for adults. Netflix has five original dramas and comedy series premiering this year, and Amazon has a set of comedy pilots in production.
Amazon has publicly identified six such pilots, and there are two others that have not formally announced by the company. The pilot episodes, at least of the six, are expected to be posted online sometime this spring.