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Amazon.com Inc.'s decision to unbundle its streaming video content from the company's broader Prime membership marks the latest step in the company's growing commitment to positioning itself as a leading over-the-top provider.
The move also pits Prime Video more directly against streaming giant Netflix Inc. and other OTT competitors.
Amazon customers now have the option to subscribe only to Prime Video for $8.99 per month. Previously, Prime Video was packaged with Amazon's larger Prime service, which offers subscribers a variety of discounts and services for $99 a year. The company also rolled out a new $10.99 per month plan for Prime.
The changes to Amazon's streaming video offering hit the market just as some subscribers to streaming giant Netflix are bracing for price hikes. Customers grandfathered in at prices as low as $7.99 a month will be getting bumped to the company's newer $9.99 monthly pricing this spring.
"If Amazon didn't time this in line with Netflix's price hikes, it certainly is a piece of fortuitous timing for them," said Imran Choudhary, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
The roots of Amazon's ambitions in video go back a decade, when the company unveiled Amazon Unbox. That service allowed customers to download TV episodes for $1.99 each. Movies were priced at $7.99 to $14.99 per download, with short-term rentals offered for $3.99. Two years later, the company renamed the service Amazon Video On Demand and added video streaming capabilities. In 2011, it debuted yet another rebranding, calling the service Amazon Instant Video and rolling it into the company's Prime...