The Amazon streaming service and PBS said Friday that more than 150 local PBS stations, and PBS Kids programming, are joining Prime Video's FAST channel offerings, marking the first time the content will be available at no cost on a major streamer, according to a release. The channels will arrive in the coming months.

The public broadcaster is also launching two new FAST channels exclusively through Prime Video, and will debut pop-up streams over time.

CULVER CITY, Calif. —In a notable expansion of the way viewers can watch local PBS stations, the network and Amazon said more than 150 public TV stations and the PBS Kids channel will launch ad-free over the coming months as a Prime Video FAST offering.

PBS is expanding its presence in the linear, free streaming channel business. The public broadcaster has sealed a deal with Amazon to stream its PBS Kids channel, as well as 150 local PBS stations, as part of the Prime Video FAST channel offerings.

A new day is dawning for public television in the streaming era, with PBS and Amazon reaching a deal to bring 150 local stations, PBS Kids and two new FAST channels to Prime Video. As in the longstanding linear broadcast model,