Amazon Will Be Exclusive Streaming Platform For Starz’s ‘White Queen’

Amazon is adding a new show to its already large library of streaming titles. The internet retail giant signed a deal with Starz Digital Media for the exclusive streaming rights to the network’s show White Queen.

Thanks to the pact, Prime Instant Video users will be able to stream all ten episodes of White Queen. The miniseries, produced by Company Pictures, Playground Entertainment, and all3media, originally appeared on the Starz channel in 2013. The series will continue to be available on the network’s platforms. Variety notes this is the first streaming agreement of this kind between Amazon and Starz in the U.S.

White Queen was filmed in Belgium and is based off Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War, an historical novel about England’s War of the Roses. The Starz miniseries stars Rebecca Ferguson as Queen Eizabeth (Woodville) and Janet McTeer as Jacquetta of Luxembourg; both women were nominated at the 2014 Golden Globes for their performances. Therefore, the two actresses are in good company in the Amazon family, as Jeffrey Tambor was also nominated in 2015 for his role in Amazon’s Transparent. Tambor eventually took home the award for best actor in a TV comedy series.

Mara Winokur, Starz’s senior VP of digital, told Variety the deal with Amazon will help audiences discover “one of our miniseries from the growing library of programming found on the Starz channels and services.” Starz is also hoping the Amazon pact will help drive consumers back to pay-TV services, which feature the network’s programming, but viewers who decline that option can always wait for the network’s proposed SVOD service.

As for Amazon, the company is looking to expand its own roster of entertainment titles to compete with competitor Netflix. The internet retailer will delve into feature films in the near future, and plans to produce more original series after the massive success of Transparent. Just recently, Amazon inked a deal with Ben Silverman’s Electus to develop a pilot for a series based on the life of Casanova.

According to Variety, Amazon Prime has at least 50 million worldwide users, but the publication clarified that exact numbers aren’t available with regard to how many of those subscribers actually use and watch Prime Instant Video.