Amazon.com recently announced a new feature called "Instant Video." What it allows is for members of Amazon Prime to watch an unlimited amount of videos every month for a small fee. Recent conversations have included concern for the welfare of several companies with which Instant Video would indirectly compete, such as Netflix and Hulu.
When comparing the costs, one will notice that Amazon's Instant Video is actually cheaper in the long run. However, there are some drawbacks. First of all the video library is only around 5,000 titles, and most of them are not the latest films by any means. At the same time, this still is a large amount of movies to choose from-- just maybe not when compared to the 20,000 titles Netflix can offer. The subscribers also must become Amazon Prime members to use the Instant Video, but "Prime" status does come with many options.
There are many convenience factors for joining Amazon Prime. First of all it's only $6.58 every month ($79 a year), which is less than Netflix's and Hulu's $7.99 per month fee. The fact that these titles are available for instant viewing purposes also adds to the appeal. Members of Amazon Prime can even get Free Super Saving , so if they see a physical copy of a movie they want online for about $9.99, that really is all they'll pay for it (no shipping fees). They can even rent movies online for a reasonable fee too. Also, remember that the free shipping applies to ALL products on Amazon.com.
So, what do you think? Are all these added benefits from Amazon.com worth losing your Netflix loyalty? Will other businesses that offer movies really struggle due to Instant Video?
7 comments:
Though I think the "Instant Video" and instant view features on Amazon.com and Netflix are a good idea, I still think that both ideas are not fully developed. As a movie lover, I tried Netflix for a month because I thought I would love the ability to watch movies whenever I wanted (because of the instant view feature), but I ended up not using the service.
I think Amazon.com will not lose Netflix's loyalty because New Releases are not added to the instant view catalog until much after their release date. I also think that most people do not have the technology to stream their videos from a tv. As a result of that, I do not think most families like to watch movies on their computer.
Though the ideas of Amazon.com and Netflix are great, I think Redbox trumps all. A business that offers New Release films without a subscription, for one dollar, that you can return whenever you would like sound like the winner to me.
There's no denying that Amazon Prime beats Netflix on price. Netflix's streaming-only deal will run you $7.99 a month so with Prime you save about $1.41 per month or $16.88 per year. That cheaper price is not worth the smaller selection though.
Netflix is also available on several other Platforms such as the iPad and phones. At $1.41 more per month, Netflix beats Amazon Prime on selection and platform availability. So unless you absolutely need Amazon's free shipping deal, don't cancel your Netflix subscription just yet.
I would definitely still choose Netflix. For the little extra you have four times the instant viewing options, plus you have all the DVD's you can watch in a month. Amazon's offer wouldn't even be tempting unless it were $2 or $3 per month. Even then, I'm sure there are more than 5,000 titles you can watch for free on Youtube, if you're willing to watch them in 10-minute segments.
I do not think Netflix will have anything to worry about Amazon for now. I know personally it would not make since to use a service that does not offer as many movies for a few less dollars a year. I feel like Netflix,Hulu, and even Redbox have already changed the way we rent movies so much that if amazon wants to just it they have to make it completely worth it and so far it doesn't sound like it is.
I think that Amazon is taking almost a Walmart-like approach to the subscription movie rental industry. I have a Netflix account and Amazon offers a very similar selection of newer and more popular online viewable titles. The only difference is that they don't have as many of the less popular titles. I think that because Amazon is so new on the scene that they would naturally have fewer movies. Give them some time and they will have a similar quantity of title to choose from. That would make it so that their lower price would be beneficial and more attractive than Netflix or Hulu. I think in the end that Amazon will win the competition of online movie-viewing in the end.
Amazon is trying to get back it's customers from that whole fiasco they went through. It seems like a fail attempt Netfilx pretty much holds that corner of the market as far as movies go.
I'm not sure what to think on this matter. I've always associated Amazon with books of any kind. Then it expanded into other products. Ebay has everything else whether you want it or not. But Amazon, I feel, is trustworthy. But with this new change and the rise of Netflix, I'm not so sure anymore. Shopping online can be a scary ordeal as your identity can be easily stolen if you aren't careful or protected.
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