In another move to boost subscriptions to its Prime Instant Video service, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today said that it has signed a licensing agreement with the NBCUniversal division of Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to add “exclusive unlimited subscription streaming access” to past programs of four series. Amazon also acquired rights to other television programming, including some popular children’s programming.

The deal is really nothing particularly unusual — an Internet video streaming service adding old shows to its lineup. Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Hulu and many other streaming services do this all the time. About a month ago Amazon said it would let viewers help it choose the first of its original productions to add to the Prime service.

That was mildly interesting, but just a page from Netflix’s book. Somehow or other, the video streaming companies are going to have to shake loose new programming from the established media firms like Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) and others. Original programming like Netflix’s “House of Cards” proved to be a huge success, according to the company, and that is what drove Amazon to jump into the fray.

Of course all of these have to compete with Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube, which is far and away the leading provider of video content. That is because most of YouTube’s videos are made by amateurs and the videos are free. If — and it is a big “if” — YouTube can get viewers to pay for the various channels it has begun to offer, Google could end up putting a huge dent in revenues and profits at Netflix, Amazon Prime and others.

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