Amazon Makes Exclusive Deal To Get 'Downton Abbey,' Beating Out Netflix

Not On Netflix Anymore

Everyone's favorite show about British lords and servants will soon find a permanent home on Amazon.

Amazon just signed a deal for exclusive streaming rights to the PBS hit series "Downton Abbey" for the third, fourth and fifth seasons of the show (if they're produced). In a press release, Amazon announced that "later this year, no digital subscription service other than Prime Instant Video will offer any seasons of 'Downton Abbey.'"

That other "digital subscription service" is Netflix, which previously had streaming rights to the first and second seasons of the acclaimed British period drama. The contract is a huge get for Amazon, as "Downton Abbey" has an enormous following in the U.S., with 7.9 million American viewers last month for PBS. Of course, some who watch "Downton" online do so illegally, as the show is released significantly earlier in the U.K. than in the U.S. Either way, this deal is a big step in the right direction for Amazon as it attempts to compete with Netflix.

But Netflix isn't resting on its success. In an effort to compete with alternative streaming services, Netflix recently released "House Of Cards," a new original series, as the company aims to be the next HBO, according to a profile of the company and its CEO, Reed Hastings, in the most recent edition of GQ.

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