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,