beer Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 The New York post claims that Amazon is currently debating on whether to spin off the Prime Instant Video service as a standalone subscription-based offering, rivaling Netflix. One digital media executive who remained anonymous said that Amazon's current scheme is "contractually an issue for the licensers," meaning copyright holders aren't too keen with their content being served up for free as a bonus.As the New York Post states, "Tinseltown talent doesn’t like being a loss-leader for Amazon shipments of everything from diapers to digital devices."Amazon launched Instant Video last February, and shelled out $100 million to CBS for 2,000 hours of TV shows -- including the five Star Trek shows -- in July. Amazon then landed deals with Fox, Disney and NBCUniversal. Through Amazon Prime, subscribers have access to Arrested Development, The X-Files, Glee, Lost, Gray's Anatomy, The Tudors and more.Amazon Prime currently has around 7 to 8 million subscribers, all of which also get free 2-day shipping. Amazon has been paying fees on the content based on the number of subscribers, but insiders claim Amazon is currently "refreshing its checkbook." By comparison, Netflix has 20 million streaming subscribers globally.(source) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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