Tech

Amazon is going to war with Netflix by launching a new standalone video-streaming service

By Rob Price
Read in app
House of Cards
There's a streaming war going on, and it could get bloody.  Netflix

Amazon is going to war with Netflix.

The online-retail giant is letting customers subscribe to its video-streaming service by itself for the first time, CNN Money reports — creating a standalone service that acts as a direct competitor to Netflix.

Amazon has been heavily investing in its digital-content business in recent years. But until now, it has only ever been available as part of Amazon Prime, Amazon's subscription service that also includes free one-day delivery.

But now customers will be able to subscribe on a month-by-month basis just to the video options — straightforwardly named Amazon Video.

Its price also undercuts Netflix by a dollar — Amazon Video will cost $8.99 a month, versus $9.99 for Netflix. (European pricing or launch details for Amazon Video weren't immediately available, but it seems likely it will similarly undercut Netflix on the continent.)

Another change: Customers can also subscribe to the full Amazon Prime service on a monthly basis. It costs $10.99 a month, or $99 a year in the US.

Amazon boasts an increasingly impressive roster of content in its video service, with high-budget original shows like "The Man In The High Castle" and the forthcoming show by the "Top Gear" team.

But Netflix is a formidable opponent: In a recent Morgan Stanley poll, 29% of people surveyed said that Netflix has the best original content — beating HBO for the first time, and trouncing Amazon Prime, which just 5% said had the best material. Netflix also has the most loyal subscribers of all its competitors, according to research from Parks Associates.

netflix amazon prime hbo original content poll morgan stanley
Morgan Stanley

Read next

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Reporter Rob Price sitting at a table
Rob Price
Rob Price was a senior correspondent at Business Insider, based in San Francisco. He wrote investigations and long-form features about platforms, people, and power in Silicon Valley.His stories variously led to attorney general investigations, large-scale internal reviews at major tech companies, high-profile personnel departures, citation by state and federal lawmakers, and the closure of a well-funded startup. His 2022 story on the Bitfinex hack is being adapted into a feature film, and in 2024 he received an SPJ NorCal Excellence in Journalism award for his reporting on AI and relationships.Rob's scoops and exclusive stories were cited by The New York Times, Bloomberg, the BBC, Associated Press, Reuters, CNBC, Politico, The Guardian, Axios, and many other national and international publications. His writing has also been published in or syndicated by The Washington Post, The Independent, Vice, Slate, and elsewhere, and he appeared on CNN, the BBC, CBS, Reuters, ABC Australia, and other broadcast media to discuss technology, business, and culture.He worked for Business Insider from 2015 to 2025. Prior to joining the features team, Rob covered Facebook and Silicon Valley, and before that wrote about tech business, policy, and the gig economy in London. Between September and October 2019, he was acting executive editor for Business Insider's UK bureau. He also sat on the board of directors for the San Francisco Press Club, the leading non-profit media advocacy group in the Bay Area, and was a volunteer crew member at the Marine Mammal Center, the world's largest animal hospital for marine mammals. You can contact Rob Price via email at robaeprice@gmail.com, or +1 650-636-6268 (Signal / WhatsApp / Cell). Selected stories:— They spoke out against their employer. Then they were hit with trade secrets suits.— The rise of 'shadow stand-ins'— App, Lover, Muse: Inside a 47-year-old Minnesota man's three-year relationship with an AI chatbot— Deel Speed: The inside story of a $12 billion HR startup's breakneck growth— Private islands, flying cars, and psychedelic parties: Inside the wild post-Google lives of Larry Page and Sergey Brin— 'I want your Instagram account': First came the threatening texts, followed by the SWAT teams. Then someone wound up dead.— Inside Iconiq: How Mark Zuckerberg's banker built a secret Silicon Valley empire and made billions— Gaia was a wildly popular yoga brand. Now it's a publicly traded Netflix rival pushing conspiracy theories while employees fear the CEO is invading their dreams— A drunken late-night assault allegation has roiled the secretive world of Mark Zuckerberg's private family office. Personal aides are speaking out about claims that household staff endured sexual harassment and racism from their colleagues.
HOME Subscribe Read in app