Amazon Prime Aims to Take Down Competition With New Monthly Prime Subscription

Looks like Netflix and Hulu just got some new competition.

Amazon Prime is now offering a monthly subscription service allowing customers to purchase Prime Video, a new video subscription service strictly for their streaming platform.

The new monthly service will cost $11 per month for a full Prime subscription, instead of the $99 per year deal that is normally in place. For the first time, customers can purchase just a Prime Video subscription at a cost of $9 per month. Amazon will also sell Prime bundle, which will include free shipping for just $10.99 per month, or $131.88 per year.

The service change can only be a positive for Amazon. With a monthly deal, Amazon is likely to receive more subscribers to its Netflix-like service. Amazon also has a cheaper rate with $9 per month, unlike Netflix who just raised their prices to $10 per month.

“Amazon is in this to win this,” said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. “Before, video was an afterthought to free shipping. Now, it’s top of mind. In order for this to success (sic), they’re going to have to market it and spend a lot of money on new content.”

However, it may be cheaper just to go big and buy the whole package. The month-to-month video service will end up costing $107.88 for the whole year, instead of the $99. Amazon still expects the service to be popular because of the come-and-go and short-term commitment for the monthly package.

In the last few years, Amazon has had some major hits on the streaming service such as Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle. The streaming service also plans to spend big money on films starting with the Sundance breakout hit, Manchester by the Sea.

“What this says is that they now believe the content is good enough to justify a stand-alone service,” shared Pachter