Netflix and Chill?

 It looks like Amazon is catering to a different market than its typical online shoppers these days. Amazon’s most recent addition includes an $8.99 monthly video streaming service with the same concept as Netflix. Amazon’s video streaming is simply labeled, “Amazon Prime Streaming Services,” because of the attractive Prime offer that comes along with a subscription to Amazon’s monthly streaming services. With an Amazon Prime Streaming subscription comes the option of having full access to an Amazon Prime’s regular services for only $10.99 a month, which is an amazing deal considering the previous Prime membership was $99 annually. With the discounted Prime membership that is offered with Amazon’s streaming services, comes the option to turn on and off the membership on a month-to-month basis. Amazon has actually offered streaming services for a while now, but it was only available as an exclusive perk for Prime members. Now that Amazon is offering streaming as a stand-alone service, anybody can purchase a monthly subscription.             

Amazon’s main competitors are Netflix and Hulu, and each site has benefits, which is why it is difficult to say that one service is the best because it just depends on what you are looking for (old shows, new shows, documentaries, independent films, etc.) and which benefits seem worth it to you.  Amazon is without a doubt sending a clear message to Netflix seeing as Amazon’s monthly video streaming subscription of $8.99 is just $1.00 less than Netflix’s monthly subscription. Not to mention, Amazon announced their new video-streaming option on April 18^th, the eve of Netflix’s first-quarter earnings report. Amazon video streaming features an assortment of TV shows, movies, and videos that is equally as powerful as Netflix’s movie and TV show assortment. Amazon has already made agreements concerning HBO’s older content, an exclusive TV series with director Woody Allen, and TV networks, such as Epix whose catalogs include an impressive list of popular movies including The Hunger Games. So the question is will Netflix users stay loyal to their “Netflix and chill,” or switch to more of a bargain like Amazon Prime?

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By Anna LeJeune
http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-ups-the-ante-on-streaming-video-1460944802