Amazon is bringing live television to its Prime Video subscription service today, as the online retail giant looks to rival the likes of Sky and BT.
For an additional fee, Prime members can watch 40 TV networks on Amazon Channels. Prices per channel range from £1.49 to £9.99 each month on top of the £70 Amazon Prime membership fee and there's no word on whether package deals will be offered.
On offer will be content from the likes of Discovery, Eurosport Player and ITV Hub+. US reality TV show network Hayu and the global film streaming service Mubi will also be available.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, "many of the UK's major broadcasters have declined to join in", including channels under rival networks such as Sky and BT, the Daily Telegraph reports.
This may be due to the services "seeking to attract subscribers to their own pay-TV packages rather than allow Amazon to become their distributor", adds the paper.
Tom Harrington, research analyst at Enders Analysis, told the Financial Times the new service "makes sense" for both the retail giant and the TV network.
"If more people are watching Horse and Country through Amazon then they are more likely to buy more saddles through Amazon," he said.
Convention TV viewership was "declining", added Harrington, but "people are not watching less televisual content, they are probably watching more. It's just how they are watching it."
-
Amazon's robotaxi looks to be Waymo's biggest competitorIn the Spotlight The company recently opened a new robotaxi production plant in California
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellitesSpeed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Amazon ending 'Just Walk Out' grocery checkoutSpeed Read In its place, the company will let customers scan while they shop with Amazon Dash Cart
-
The pros and cons of drone deliveryPros and cons It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a ... drone?
-
AI job fears: how can we regulate the ‘rise of the robots’?Today's Big Question Concern grows that ‘AI jobs bloodbath’ is underway as BT announces plan to shed 55,000 staff
-
Is the UK facing an internet blackout?Today's Big Question Industry source points to ‘red flashing light’ of Ofcom contingency plans for nationwide outages
-
Amazon hardware event 2019: Echo Buds, Frames and moreIn Depth From Alexa-powered glasses to pet trackers, the exciting new gadgets announced at the product keynote
-
Alexa to impersonate celebritiesIn Depth Samuel L. Jackson will be first star to lend voice to Amazon’s new artificial intelligence feature
