Amazon is to offer video streaming of exclusive shows such as Transparent and The Man in the High Castle as a standalone service in the US for the first time as it tries to make up ground on Netflix.
The online retailer had previously offered Prime Video in the US as part of its Prime package, which also includes next day shipping and other perks, for $99 (£70) a year. It has quietly offered a monthly version for £5.99 in the UK, but will begin promoting the option more strongly, according to reports.
US users will now be able to pay $8.99 a month for Amazon’s video, and get Prime as a monthly option for $10.99.
The move is a clear attempt to catch up with Netflix, which has led the way in video streaming by offering a cut-price monthly service while also spending big on original content such as House of Cards, Better Call Saul and Marvel superhero spinoff series including Daredevil and Jessica Jones.
It comes as Netflix begins moving longer-term subscribers over to new, more expensive packages, having given early adopters a price freeze when it introduced a new pricing structure last year.
In the UK Netflix has a large lead over Amazon, with more than 5m households signed up at the end of 2015, compared with around 1.6m for the latter. It is also growing more quickly than its rival.
However, Amazon’s European video boss, Jay Marine, recently said there is room for competing online video services.
“Video is a huge market,” he told the Guardian in an interview published on Sunday. “It is not winner takes all. There are going to be multiple winners here and you are already seeing that. It’s working.”
