Amazon UK takes on Sky with TV Channel add-ons for Prime Video
ITV, Discovery, Eurosport and BFI Player are all available as separate, paid packages.
In its bid to become the cord-cutting service of choice, Amazon UK has confirmed it's bringing Channel add-ons to the UK. The service allows Prime subscribers to bolt subscriptions from various UK TV services onto their account, without the need for a bundle or a restrictive contract. Prices range from between £1.49 to £9.99, with notable streaming platforms including Discovery, Eurosport Player, ITV Hub+, hayu and BFI Player all available at launch.
Amazon Channels first debuted in the US in December 2015 with the launch of the Streaming Partners Program. US subscribers have a high-quality selection of bolt-ons to choose from -- including HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, Cinemax and PBS KIDS -- but what the UK offering lacks in quality, it delivers on diversity. There are workout channels for Acacia TV and BeFit UK; foreign films from Fandor and Filmbox; and Heera, Amazon's curated Bollywood channel.
While Netflix doesn't allow third-party services to integrate with its platform, Sky has built its TV empire around bundles. Typically, a Sky customer needs to subscribe to a package of channels in order to get access to the one they're after, be it sport, entertainment or movies. Amazon does the opposite: it presents a variety of add-on subscriptions, allowing Prime members to pick and choose the most relevant channels and pay for them only.
