Amazon may incorporate new services into its Prime Instant Video
The e-commerce giant is reportedly in talks with service providers to
incorporate their TV and movie offerings into Amazon’s streaming-video
service.
Amazon wants to expand its Instant Video service beyond just individual
shows and movies, allowing customers to subscribe to current content
from popular television networks and movie channels, reports indicate.
The news follows rumors in October that suggest the company aims to
launch live TV programming as soon as possible, a big move away from its
current business model which primarily focuses on past seasons of
popular television shows and older movies.
The report, which first appeared on Bloomberg Friday, seems to confirm
these earlier rumors. Amazon will develop landing pages for the networks
similar to what we see in services like iTunes, and allow Prime
subscribers to add them in addition to their standard Prime subscriptions.
Another effort focuses on allowing Prime users to enter Amazon
credentials to log into other streaming services, Bloomberg adds.
Why this matters: Amazon has focused heavily on its Prime Instant Video
service this year, beefing up content offerings and its own produced
shows. It’s seen critical acclaim for original shows like the
alternative history thriller The Man in the High Castle; however there
is still a good deal of demand for traditional shows and movies, and up
until now Amazon’s offering has felt a little bit dated—often a season
or more behind.
Is Amazon trying to beat Apple to the punch?
The offering may launch as early as next month, and subscribers would
add the new content channels either on an a la carte basis or through
prepackaged bundles that Amazon puts together. This rush to launch may
be a nod to the increasing competition it’s seeing from a chief rival in
the space.
Apple is reportedly close to a video service of it’s own, with reports
suggesting it may go live as early as 2016. Getting the necessary
agreements in place to actually launch the service with a live
television component, however, has proven to be tough for the Cupertino
company.
Bloomberg reported in August that discussions with content providers had
all but stalled over disagreements in pricing and terms. It is not clear
if Amazon is having any better success in getting the go-ahead from the
networks, but the efforts to at least bring more current content to
Prime Instant Video suggest they may be having some success.
The live television component of Amazon’s planned video offerings is
said to be separate from the new content partnerships, but it seems
likely that any new service for Prime Instant Video would be built so
that live television from those content partners could be easily integrated.
TechHive has reached out to Amazon for comment on this story; Bloomberg
wrote that the company had declined comment on its own findings earlier
Friday.
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*================================================ Duane Whittingham -
N9SSN (ARES/RACES, EmComm, Skywarn & Red Cross)
http://www.radiodude.info ================================================*
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