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'Dance Moms,' other A&E shows waltz onto Amazon Prime

Amazon is offering popular shows from the A&E, Lifetime, Bio, and History channels and notes it has more than doubled its video selection over the past year.

Shara Tibken Former managing editor
Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."
Shara Tibken
"Storage Wars" is one of A&E's shows that can be viewed via Amazon streaming. A&E
People seeking their favorite A&E shows -- like "Storage Wars" or "Dance Moms" -- can now watch them via Amazon's video streaming service.

The Web giant today said it has reached a content licensing agreement with A+E Networks, which owns the A&E, Bio, History, and Lifetime channels. Under the agreement, prior seasons of popular shows will be added to Amazon's Prime Instant Video service.

Amazon has been rapidly expanding its streaming service to compete with Netflix, Hulu, and other rivals. The service originally was only available to the company's customers who have annual Prime subscriptions for $79 a year, but Amazon in November said it was beginning to offer monthly access for $7.99.

Amazon noted today that its Instant Video service now features more than 33,000 movies and TV episodes.

"In a year we have more than doubled the Prime Instant Video selection for our Prime members," Brad Beale, director of digital video content acquisition for Amazon, said in a statement.