Amazon first experimented with the new subscription model last month in partnership with Sprint, as pointed out by CNN. Now you can! Amazon has just launched a standalone version of their video streaming service known as Prime Video, for which users will pay monthly to have access to their expansive library of TV and movies.
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Amazon Prime, by most accounts, has been a huge success for the company, but one of the biggest hurdles for anyone thinking about joining the service is that it has required customers to pay $99 up front for an annual membership.
Amazon is also expected to start offering its Prime delivery service as a monthly option. This puts Amazon in the same boat as other popular video streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix, a service which has recently announced a price increase by one dollar to $9.99 a month.
According to a report from the New York Times, Amazon notified visitors on Sunday to check out its Prime website that it now offers two new Prime price plans in conjunction with the $99 per year option.
If you like to crunch numbers, that’s still the better deal.
‘The two services will compete more closely for customers, and Amazon has the marketing advantage by offering the full Prime service for just a little bit more each month’. The combo also includes a free 2-day shipping option when using the courier service.
Prime’s $8.99 plan doesn’t include free shipping, although the company is now offering a $10.99 monthly plan that does. Most prominent on Amazon are programs like the aforementioned Mozart in the Jungle, but also Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Red Oaks, Hand of God and more.
Even if the new offer from Amazon isn’t enough to put Netflix to bed, at least in the short term it does create a “negative headwind” for its established rival, Mahaney said.
Amazon’s yearly subscription rate of $99 per year, however, is a much cheaper solution.
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The Amazon service has thousands of series to choose from, and while its original series aren’t quite as buzzy as Netflix’, they’ve gained followings in their own right and have won a slew of Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
