Amazon offers video streaming service as monthly subscription

An Amazon logo is seen on a worker’s jacket at an Amazon Fulfilment Center in Wroclaw, Poland, in this file photograph dated December 3, 2015.

Reuters/Kacper Pempel/files

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said it would offer its video streaming service as a monthly subscription as it looks to drive membership in its Prime bundle.

Amazon Prime Video, which is the first service to be separated from the Prime service, will cost $8.99 per month, according to the company’s website. At the same time, Amazon will offer its Prime subscription on a monthly basis for $10.99 per month.

Current members of the Prime subscription service, which includes access to music and faster delivery options, pay $99 per year.

Netflix Inc (NFLX.O), which offers a similar video subscription service, could be hurt by the move, analysts said.

“Amazon certainly has the brand name, the customer relationships, and the focus on high-quality consumer experiences to impact the growth in Netflix’s U.S. subscriber base,” RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note.

Amazon’s shares, which were marginally higher at midday on the Nasdaq, have fallen 7.4 percent this year.

Shares of Netflix, which will report its first-quarter results after the markets close on Monday, were down 3 percent.

(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)