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Amazon Ups Ante With Standalone Streaming Service, A Buck Cheaper Than Netflix

By Shelley Hazen
Published on: 04:01 PST, Apr 18, 2016

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There used to be only one streaming service in town, but those days are over as the competition for the world’s free time is heating up. Amazon has just announced that it’ll offer a standalone streaming service that’s a dollar cheaper than Netflix.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon announced its standalone streaming option on Sunday. The subscription will cost $8.99 and customers can subscribe without paying for a full Prime membership.

This is the latest in an ongoing feud between the two companies, which has included the development of original series and the scooping up of exclusive content deals.

At the same time, Amazon has a slew of programs lined up to entertain customers, offering certain films and series that can’t be streamed with other providers and a signing deals for exclusive content like indie films, HBO’s older show, and the TV network Epix’s catalog.

“(Amazon) is absolutely escalating the arms race with Netflix,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. “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.”

Until now, streaming has been a little add-on for Prime subscribers lured to the program by its free two-day shipping and other perks. As the New York Times put it, Amazon‘s streaming catalog was quite “anemic” compared to others.

Moreover, customers could only enjoy streaming if they shelled out $99 for a Prime membership in one go. The standalone option changes all that, as it can be purchased in the short term and for a less-indulgent monthly fee.

At the same time, Amazon will now offer Prime for a monthly fee of $10.99, which can also be turned off or on at any time.

The yearly fee for Prime will still be the cheapest option. People who subscribe month to month will pay $32.88 more per year, and subscribers to the standalone streaming option will pay $8.88 more. And because it’s standalone service, the two-day shipping and other benefits won’t be available.

Amazon already has a built-in customer base of 57 million to 61 million people who’ve subscribed to Prime. Netflix is still a hefty contender, however, seeing as they’ve been in the business much longer. Their plans have always been available on a monthly basis for $7.99 to $11.99 a month. The company has $43.4 million U.S. customers as of 2015, and that’s expected to rise — they also boast 75 million global customers.

Amazon also spends less on streamlining than Netflix — about a billion dollars less.

The standalone streaming offer includes some tempting improvements to content: HBO and Epix catalogs will be on offer, an exclusive TV series from Woody Allen, and a catalog of indie films. It’s also purchased rights to Downton Abbey and Mr. Robot, which can’t be streamed on Netflix right now.

The company also has interesting original programming, like Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, and The Man in the High Castle. Netflix, of course, has House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Standalone streaming services have become more and more popular of late, with many services flooding the market and trying to lure “cord-cutters,” or people sick of pay-TV like cable or satellite, and opting for more freedom when it comes to their entertainment experiences.

In addition to Netflix and now Amazon, there’s also Hulu (which has its own benefits, like current network TV shows, available quickly after broadcast, and the shows Casual, The Mindy Project, and Seinfeld). HBO and CBS have even launched their own standalone streaming services. Cable providers like Comcast and Dish Network have also gotten into the game with packages offering slimmed down, and cheaper, streaming options.

[Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images]

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