Amazon Instant Video launches for Prime members!

We reported earlier that Amazon was planning a video streaming service to compete with Netflix’s Watch Instantly. It's official, Amazon prime members will receive unlimited, commercial-free instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows for no additional cost! Amazon’s new service has officially launched, and it’s more or less exactly what we expected. 

Amazon Instant Video requires an Amazon Prime membership, costing $79 per year. Netflix’s streaming-only option comes out to $96 a year ($8/month), so this service is actually cheaper in the long run. Plus, Amazon Prime comes with free two-day shipping with no minimum. This is great for people that buy from Amazon regularly. Student Prime members are unfortunately not included in the program, and will have to upgrade to a regular Prime in order to take advantage of Instant Video. Instant Video is only available for U.S. subscribers at the present.

Advantages of Instant Video include built-in options to rent or buy a film — Gizmodo reports that the average prices are around $12 to buy a film and $4 for a three-day rental for new titles, or slightly lower for old titles. Certain foreign-language films also allow you to choose between subtitles and dubbing.

The service currently has a few drawbacks to contend with. Gizmodo noted in an early review that the selection isn’t quite as good as one might hope. This is to be expected since the service is so new, when it picks up more users, you can expect that to change. The selection of HD video is even less varied. For instance, The Social Network is not part of the program and can only be bought or rented. Amazon Instant Video is currently only compatible with GoogleTV and Roku. It does not work with XBox, PlayStation, or Apple TV. TiVo is expected to get on board soon, but hasn’t yet. Gizmodo also reports that the site isn’t so easy to navigate.

I think this is perfect news for current Prime members, but the service is not something worth ditching Netflix for at this point. It is still early, but this service is lined up to be the only serious competitor to Netflix’s Watch Instantly service. Investors seem to have already taken note: according to The Hollywood Reporter, “Netflix shares opened lower on Tuesday.”

Here’s the full press release, via Gizmodo:

Amazon Prime Members Now Get Unlimited, Commercial-free, Instant Streaming of More Than 5,000 Movies and TV Shows at No Additional Cost
Amazon Adds Instant Videos to Amazon Prime

SEATTLE– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the launch of a new benefit for Amazon Prime members: unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of more than 5,000 movies and TV shows. This new benefit is being added at no additional cost – Prime membership will continue to be $79 per year. Amazon Prime’s all-you-can-eat free Two-Day Shipping has already attracted millions of members. Customers can learn more about an Amazon Prime one-month free trial and start watching instantly at www.amazon.com/primevideos.

“Adding unlimited instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows at no additional cost is a great way to give members even more value for their $79 annual Amazon Prime membership.”

“Millions of Amazon Prime members already enjoy the convenience of free Two-Day Shipping,” said Robbie Schwietzer, vice president of Amazon Prime. “Adding unlimited instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows at no additional cost is a great way to give members even more value for their $79 annual Amazon Prime membership.”

Movies and TV shows included with an Amazon Prime membership can be watched instantly on Macs, PCs and nearly 200 models of Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes that are compatible with Amazon Instant Video. The selection of videos available for instant streaming currently includes movies, such as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy, “Amadeus,” “Syriana,” and “Chariots of Fire,” noted documentaries such as “Food Inc.,” “March of the Penguins” and “Ken Burns’ National Parks,” plus TV shows, such as “Doctor Who,” “Farscape,” “Fawlty Towers” and children’s shows, such as “Arthur,” “Caillou,” “Super Why!” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

Amazon Prime is a membership program that offers customers unlimited free Two-Day Shipping with no minimum purchase requirement for only $79 a year. Millions of items are eligible, including books, home and garden products, electronics, video games, clothing, accessories and beauty products. With the introduction of Prime instant videos, free trial and paid Amazon Prime members in the U.S. now also have unlimited instant access to more than 5,000 videos.

Amazon Instant Video is a digital video service that offers customers more than 90,000 commercial-free movies and television shows to buy or rent on an a la carte basis. New-release movies are often available as soon as they are released on DVD, and many TV shows are available the day after their first broadcast. Amazon Instant Video also offers thousands of movies and TV shows in high definition. With Amazon Instant Video, customers can watch instantly on Macs, PCs, and nearly 200 Internet connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes. To learn more about Amazon Instant Video on your TV, visit www.amazon.com/watchontv.

“In addition to now offering unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows to Amazon Prime members, we continue to offer all customers more than 90,000 movies and TV shows through Amazon Instant Video,” said Cameron Janes, director of Amazon Instant Video. “With Amazon Instant Video customers can rent or purchase hit movies, such as ‘The Social Network’ as well as purchase the latest TV shows available the day-after they broadcast.”
Customers who receive Prime shipping benefits through our Amazon Student and Amazon Mom programs can upgrade to receive paid Prime benefits for just $79 a year.

For more information on Amazon Prime and Prime instant videos and to start an Amazon Prime free trial, visit www.amazon.com/primevideos.

For more information on Amazon Instant Video, visit www.amazon.com/instantvideo.