Now, video on demand from Amazon isn’t new. You’ve been able to stream television shows and movies from Amazon for a while now, a la carte, or by season. But that’s not the same thing, and not really a direct Netflix competitor. Until now.
Amazon has launched Amazon Prime, an unlimited, commercial-free, on-demand streaming provider of movies and television. A yearly subscription costs $79. Wait, Amazon Prime? I thought that’s what they called the membership where you get unlimited free 2-day shipping with your orders. Yup. That’s the one. For those people, this is a completely free bonus. For new customers, the shipping might act as that “bonus”.
Now, this on-demand access to 5,000 movies and shows is only a part of Amazon’s 90,000 offering collection of Instant Video. And doesn’t really compare to Netflix’s online streaming catalog. But, there’s a competitor in the making here. And it’s exciting.