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Amazon Instant Video streaming is now live on the Xbox 360
If Amazon's video store is going to compete with the other online sources like Hulu and Netflix, getting on as many platforms as possible is key and it made a major expansion today by launching on the Xbox 360. The app launched on the PS3 back in April, and just like that version, this one includes access to Amazon's video on-demand and Prime all-you-can-eat subscription based streaming. Unique to the Xbox 360 app is support for the console's Kinect peripheral and its ability to recognize control by gesture or voice, plus a brand new feature for Amazon -- a queue. The Watchlist (for now only available on the Xbox 360, Kindle Fire and via the web) lets customers preselect programming they're interested in for easy access on the devices later, just like Netflix's implementation, however Amazon's VOD store means access to newer and higher profile content is just a click away. There's more details in the press release and video after the break, or you can just check out the app on your console right now (if you're in the US and have Xbox Live Gold, of course -- even if you don't have Prime, there's a one month free trial offer). Update: Major Nelson also posted availability of other apps and a free XBL Gold preview weekend, as Antena 3 launches in Spain, MLB.tv in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Muzu.tv in Australia and New Zealand. June 1st through June 3rd, XBL Gold access will be "unlocked", letting Silver gamers in U.S., Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Chile play for free and access the Amazon, IGN, Manga Entertainment and Muzu.tv apps. [Thanks, AtillaG!]
Amazon Studios expands into TV series, looks to load up on content for streaming
Amazon has had a content development division for some time but today it's announced plans to expand from just movies to developing (and distributing, via its Instant Video service) original comedy and children's series. The new focus follows the competition like Netflix and Hulu which have both dived headlong into developing original TV show-style content that mirrors the content consumers seem to gravitate towards on streaming services. According to the press release Amazon Studios is willing to option one "promising project" per month for $10k and pay $55k to a creator if their series is selected for distribution. Submissions of 22-minute pilot scripts for comedies and 11-minute pilot scripts for children's shows are being accepted, which Amazon will either option within 45 days or the creator can choose between pulling it back and leaving it up for community feedback. There's more info at the site or in the press release after the break, but just remember: if we see any series picked up about dashingly handsome tech bloggers and the fast-paced lives they lead, we're coming for our cut.
Amazon Instant Video app for the PS3 brings both Prime subscriptions and VOD along
While Amazon has continued to grow both its video on-demand and all you can eat Prime Instant Video services content-wise, playback on the TV is still limited to relatively few devices. You can add a major one to the list however, since the app has just started popping up on the PlayStation 3, as pointed out above by Joystiq. While the Xbox 360 has always supported the downloadable files brought over from PCs since the days of Unbox, beyond the Roku boxes and a limited selection of Blu-ray Players and HDTVs, the PS3 is immediately the service's most widely available connected TV platform. If you're looking for it, it should pop up right below competitor Netflix under the video services tab the next time you power on your console.Update: PlayStation.Blog has posted some official information -- hit the link below or check out a video demo embedded after the break.
Discovery shows hit Amazon Prime Instant Video, because it's 'Dirty Jobs,' but someone has to stream it
Amazon today announced a deal that will bring a slew of content from Discovery Communications to its ever increasing selection of streamable Prime videos. The partnership includes content from such properties as the Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, amongst a handful of others, with shows like Dirty Jobs and Whale Wars coming along for the ride. At present, the total selection of videos on the service is up to more than 17,000 titles, which can be viewed for free by Amazon Prime members in the US. Press info can be found after the break.
Comcast to launch Xfinity Streampix streaming video service, challenge Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon (update)
It was only a matter of time, right? The Wall Street Journal reports that Comcast is rolling out a VOD competitor for Amazon, Netflix and Hulu so it can grab a slice of the streaming video pie. Called Xfinity Streampix, it brings shows from NBC and ABC, along with movies from Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Scheduled to launch this Thursday, the service will be rolled in for free with some existing cable packages and available on its own for $4.99 a month. For your five bucks, you get access to a back catalog of shows and movies on any internet-capable device, though, naturally we don't know exactly how much content will be available when it goes live. What we do know is that price point puts Streampix well beneath the $7.99 asking price of its competition, so here's hoping a VOD price war ensues.Update: Check out the official PR after the break for more details, including a list of the content coming to Streampix and Comcast's plans to bring VOD to the Xbox 360 and Android.
Amazon, Viacom deal brings more TV shows to Prime Instant Video service
Just as rumors indicated yesterday, Amazon has announced a new licensing deal with Viacom that will add TV shows from its networks -- MTV, Comedy Central, BET, VH1, Spike, Nickelodeon and the rest -- to the Prime Instant Video service. There's still no word on any potential spinning off of the all-you-can-eat video portion from the rest of Amazon's Prime membership program, but it does bring the count of movies and TV shows available to around 15,000, up from the 13,000 cited recently. The details are in the press release after the break, but it appears Amazon will have many of the same selections Netflix obtained in its earlier deals, from MTV favorites like RJ Berger and The Hills to kids shows like Yo Gabba Gabba and iCarly.
Reuters: Amazon Prime Instant Video close to Viacom deal, standalone service launch
So far, 2012 has been quiet for Amazon's all-you-can-eat video streaming service, but that could change soon as Reuters cites anonymous sources claiming the retailer will lock up a deal with Viacom (Paramount Studios, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike, etc.) soon. That would reportedly be one of the final steps to launching Prime Instant Video as a standalone service, just as Netflix had suggested in its last earnings report. With details still scarce it's hard to say exactly what shape these competitors to the streaming crown will take, but between Amazon, Hulu, Redbox / Verizon, Google, whatever Apple may be up to as well as a fight from Sky and Lovefilm in the UK, it should be a very interesting year.
Netflix Q4 results: 220k new streaming-only customers, beats earnings estimates (Update: no game rentals coming)
Netflix's Q4 2011 earnings report is in, and the company indicates its streaming subscriber count is now 21.67 million. DVD subscribers were still down however, although not as much as expected with cancellations peaking in September when the services split, leaving it with a total number of 24.4 million customers. This closes out a tough 2011 that saw its subscriber count drop by 800k in Q3, and most recently resulted in the search for a new Chief Marketing Officer. The company exceeded its own targets for growth in streaming customers and domestically, the segment reported a higher-than-expected profit of $52 million.When it comes to its competition however, Netflix cosigned a rumor indicated today by the New York Post that Amazon may spin off its Prime Instant video service into a cheaper-than-Netflix standalone offering. For now however, it believes Amazon and Hulu offer only a fraction of its content, and net subscriber viewing hours that are less than 10 percent of the 2 billion --around 30 per member -- it reported during Q4.Regarding the new 56-day delay for DVDs and Blu-ray discs from Warner Bros., it "didn't like" the new terms, but decided it was more efficient to keep a direct relationship for discs than to try buying discs from retail again, and expects more "differentiated dates" from studios going forward. With its Starz deal coming to an end soon, Netflix plans to plug the content hole by licensing some of the movies from Encore directly from the studios, and the kid-friendly Disney fare with flicks like The Adventures of Tin Tin and Rango from Paramount (via Epix) until its new Dreamworks deal takes effect in 2013. Interestingly, it also comments that "content is a differentiator", and that it's "increasingly" licensing content exclusively to fight its true competition, TV Everywhere services like HBO Go. We'll be back with any interesting remarks from the earnings call (scheduled for 6PM ET), until then check out the press release itself linked below.Update: The earnings call (just finished) was predictably boring, but CEO Reed Hastings confirmed the company has "no plans" to offer videogames for rental, which had been announced as part of the later-retracted Qwikster spinoff. As far as offering current season episodes of TV shows for cord-cutters, it won't be bidding on those either. When it comes to 3D, Blu-ray 3D discs are already in the mix, while the company is "looking into" streaming 3D.
Amazon, Netflix ink licensing deals with ABC, add new content for you to munch on
It was a pretty busy day for the Disney-ABC Television Group yesterday, as the company announced a new licensing deal with Amazon, while renewing its pre-existing agreement with Netflix. The Amazon deal will allow Amazon Prime members to access all prior seasons of Grey's Anatomy, every episode of Lost, and all previous seasons of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, among other series. Amazon expects to add a total of some 13,000 titles to Prime Instant Video by "early next year," and just in time for the holiday season (as well as the release of the Kindle Fire). The renewal of Netflix's deal, meanwhile, ensures that the company will continue to offer episodes of shows like Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters, and Ugly Betty, as well as new additions, including Switched at Birth, Kick Buttowski and Alias. Basically, though, it's just more of the same. But at a time when Netflix is losing customers in the wake of its price hike and Qwikster debacle, maybe stability isn't such a bad thing. Surf past the break for a pair of dueling PRs.
Amazon Prime Instant Video expands its library with even more video from PBS
PBS has been down with Amazon's Prime Instant Video service since it launched, and now it's providing even more all-you-can-eat video for streaming under an expanded agreement. Naturally that means lots of episodes of NOVA and Antiques Roadshow, and "for the first time on digital video", 200 episodes of The French Chef with Julia Child. According to Amazon, that puts its total number of selections over 12,000, more than double the amount of content it launched with. It still has a ways to go to match Netflix, but with a lower yearly price, sweet shipping deal and now the ability to teach you how to make an omelet, Amazon has developed a very compelling alternative.
Amazon Prime getting Fox content, adding the Bluth family to its streaming offerings
Clearly Amazon chief Jeff Bezos just couldn't wait for Wednesday to tell the world about the company's new streaming deal. The online mega-retailer will be adding 2,000 Fox TV shows and movies to its online offerings this fall, including the likes of Arrested Development, Office Space, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, and The Wonder Years. Access to the content comes with the company's $79 a year free-shipping Prime membership. Man, that content would sure look great on an Amazon tablet, wouldn't it? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Amazon Prime Instant Video is adding CBS TV shows, including all of Star Trek
Looking for a Netflix alternative once the price for streaming and discs combined jumps in September? Amazon Prime Instant Video is becoming an increasingly appealing option, especially now that it announced TV shows from CBS are coming to the all-you-can-eat video streaming service this summer. The deal appears to be similar to one CBS reached with Netflix earlier this year, also including the complete Star Trek series among 18 "popular TV shows" with complete seasons available. Including the new selections from CBS Prime Instant Video is claiming over 6,000 movies and TV shows available, a number which is still dwarfed by Netflix's Watch Instantly library but does include those shipping benefits on purchases. Since we love free shipping and Frasier, it's a win / win for us.
Editorial: Netflix was too cheap before, but now it's just wrong
Yesterday Netflix did something pretty big: it cut the umbilical cord on its streaming video offerings. What was once a funny little niche offering, a rag-tag collection of canceled TV shows you never watched and '80s movies you never rented, had grown into something big, something that still wasn't quite great but was legitimately very good. As such, that service deserved its own plan, to stand tall and apart from the red envelopes that made the company famous. But there's one problem: after cutting Instant loose, creating a new $7.99 streaming-only plan, Netflix stuck the dagger right in its own side by not re-thinking its disc-based rentals -- plans that looked a lot more valuable before than they do now. Netflix has succeeded in making its on-demand offerings so good that those unlimited snail mail samplings can't quite stand up on their own two feet anymore. At least, they can't stand up tall enough to support their $7.99 and up prices. Maybe, Netflix, it's time to go back to the fundamentals.
Amazon boosts Prime Instant Video streaming with more than 1,000 new TV shows, movies
It may not have snagged a deal with Miramax or acquired Hulu just yet, but Amazon is busy adding content to its all-you-can-eat Prime Instant Video service. This note on the home page points out the "more than 1,000 additional movies and TV shows" with faves like Sesame Street and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles among them. The terms are still the same, it's a pack-in for paid Prime subscribers and Amazon points out there's already over 300 ways to watch on HDTVs, Blu-ray players or set-top boxes, so update your charts and see if this plus free shipping makes for a good Netflix alternative.
Poll: What's the most important feature for a Netflix competitor?
The rumor mill indicates we can expect serious competition for Netflix's Watch Instantly service sometime soon, so we're wondering what features anyone else diving into the game may want to focus on in order to get your attention. Given the service's wide reach we figure you're probably a subscriber or at least gave it a shot whether by word of mouth or through one of those annoying pop under ads (why do they still run those?) and have seen some room for improvement. We've put a few of our ideas as options in the poll below, let us know what you'd like to see most in the comments below. %Poll-63017%
Clicker.com analyzes Amazon Prime Instant Video offerings vs the competition
Amazon's Prime Instant Video service is finally here, and while we know how it works and that, unlike Netflix, it will play nicely with your 'Droid, how does its content measure up? Clicker.com pulls in feeds from all the online video sites and has broken down its data into this handy chart to investigate just that. The numbers above don't lie, Netflix has far more content at the moment, and right now, the Amazon service compares more directly to Hulu Plus than anything else. However, it is an excellent start for Amazon to grow from and the breakdown points out what numbers might miss -- while Amazon's movie selections are hurting for any high profile flicks not already on Netflix, it does bring some otherwise unavailable episodes of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, Bonanza and Dr. Who (1963) to bear -- click through for all the details, while it may not be enough to cause you to switch just yet there's definitely enough reason to keep an eye on this latest entrant to the market.
Amazon Prime Instant Video hands-on
Amazon has just turned on its Prime Instant Video service, letting paid Prime subscribers (sorry, students) in the US (sorry, foreigners) stream any of 5,000 movies and TV shows directly to their machines free of charge -- well, free beyond the $79 Primers already pay. Jeff Bezos has confirmed that there will be no extra charge going forward for this service and that Prime itself will not be getting more expensive to pay for all these bits and bytes. Right now the selection is limited, particularly if you already have a Netflix subscription, but we just had to try it out. Click on through for our impressions on a variety of devices.
Rumor: Amazon could launch unlimited movie streaming in February, no major studios on board yet
Just a few days after we got an early peek at Amazon's unlimited movie streaming setup, the LA Times reports "people familiar with the matter" say we could see an official launch by the end of this month. Amazon apparently pushed back its original date for technical reasons and while it tries to acquire more content to take on Netflix. Amazon reportedly has yet to lock up content from any of the six major Hollywood studios, which matches the selections seen in our screenshots, as the studios continue to evaluate the impact of streaming on their DVD sales. Amazon may not be the only one jumping in either as Hulu Plus could be looking to add more movies, though both are primarily looking at titles more than seven years old. That's bad news if you were hoping to see a fresher selection than what Watch Instantly offers for your $7.99+ a month, but as always, any of these things could change before launch. %Gallery-115340%
Amazon rolling out Netflix-like unlimited video streaming for Prime subscribers?
Rumors of Amazon either purchasing Netflix or launching a competing option have been circling and now one of our readers says he's seeing an unlimited video streaming section to complement the current Amazon VOD options. That's a nice bonus for the $79 / year package that currently adds a few free shipping bonuses and it would be cheaper on a yearly basis than Netflix's Watch Instantly ($95.88.) As seen above and in the gallery, it consists of "unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows" with selections that mirror the Watch Instantly catalog closely. Resolution is apparently limited to a "pretty solid" 480p SD, but there's no word on audio or subtitle options. We'll wait to hear if anyone else is seeing a similar page before assuming a wide rollout, but it certainly appears that there could finally be a viable competitor to the Netflix juggernaut. Update: We weren't able to pull up the option on any of our Prime-enabled accounts and from the comments it doesn't appear any of you were either. According to our tipster, the option has disappeared from his page as well. One other interesting note came from commenter vfiz, who found that several variations of the primeinstantvideos.com domain name were registered by Amazon-owned DPReview January 5. %Gallery-115340% [Thanks, Pavel]
