Amazon Gears Up Video-Only Service as Netflix Price Hike Set To Hit all Subscribers

Amazon stirred things up in the subscription video world, breaking out a separate Prime Video membership in an offering that competes against Hulu and Netflix. A Prime membership “does not need to be one size fits all,” said a company backgrounder Monday referring to the company’s $99 umbrella Prime membership that includes free two-day shipping, access to 1 million-plus songs along with playlists and stations on Prime Music, and tens of thousands movies and TV episodes on Prime Video. With Amazon’s new $8.99-per-month Prime Video-only membership, subscribers pay $1 less per month than Netflix’s standard rate, which will kick in next month for long-term subscribers who had been enjoying a grandfathered $7.99 rate for the past two years. Hulu is $7.99 monthly with commercials, $11.99 without. The move gives Amazon customers a video option that doesn’t require a full-year commitment to Amazon Prime. Customers have been asking for “flexibility and an easy, low upfront cost to join Prime,” said Amazon, which ultimately wants video-only subscribers to go full Prime. “For just two dollars more, members can also receive unlimited fast, free shipping, unlimited access to more than a million songs and thousands of curated playlists and stations with Prime Music, unlimited secure photos storage with Prime Photos, and so much more.” Amazon also will make full Prime available on a monthly basis for $10.99, versus the $8.25 per month subscribers pay under the annual plan. The company didn’t address the possibility of a music-only version of Prime. The New York Post called Amazon a potential “Spotify killer” (see 1602040052) in an article earlier this year speculating about a music-only service from Amazon.