Amazon Working On TV, Movie Subscription Service

LOS ANGELES — Amazon.com Inc. is talking with major media companies about offering unlimited views of older TV shows and movies online, as it struggles to stay relevant to consumers flocking to Apple Inc.'s iTunes a la carte store and Netflix Inc.'s all-you-can-eat subscription plan.

Amazon has approached several companies, including Viacom Inc., Time Warner Inc., and Sony Corp., three people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. They requested anonymity because the talks are ongoing.

The talks are at an early stage and focus on offering TV shows and movies that have already been available on home video, according to one person.

Amazon intends to link the service to its Amazon Prime membership, a $79 per year plan that gives customers discounted shipping costs. But some media companies are averse to having their offerings potentially perceived as freebies, another person said.

A spokesman for Amazon, which is based in Seattle, said the company would not speculate on future business deals.

News of the talks emerged in The Wall Street Journal, a day before Apple is expected to announce a new TV offering and a revamped iTunes. An Apple spokesman also declined to comment.

Apple has also been talking with several media companies and is nearing a deal to offer recently aired TV shows from The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC and News Corp.'s Fox for 99 cents. The shows could be downloaded but would expire 48 hours after purchase. They are intended for fans who want to catch up on shows even on airplanes or other places without wireless Internet service.

Apple is also expected to cut the price of its Apple TV device. Pre-empting the move, Roku Inc., whose set-top box allows Netflix subscribers to watch older movies and TV shows, cut the prices of its basic high-definition device by $30 to $69.99 on Monday.

Many companies are trying to bolster their online offerings but media companies are being careful not to upend lucrative existing businesses, including that of selling TV shows as reruns to other channel operators or TV stations.

Time Warner in particular is trying to preserve the business of monthly cable or satellite TV subscriptions by pushing its "TV Everywhere" plan. In the plan, it gives paying subscribers of upper tier channel plans unlimited online access to the current season of shows such as TNT's "The Closer."

Meanwhile, Hulu, the online video service jointly owned by Disney, News Corp. and NBC Universal, kicked off a $10-a-month subscription TV plan in June. It offers episodes from the current and past seasons of many ABC, Fox and NBC shows such as "Glee," "The Office," and "House," although subscribers still have to watch advertisements.

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AP Business Writers Rachel Metz and Michael Liedtke in San Francisco and Jessica Mintz in Seattle contributed to this report.

Comments

[pdxist]

06:32 PM on 09/05/2010

I want a network DVR. They have this in other countries, and the Supreme Court ruled it would be legal here (though it hasn't been rolled out yet). Basically, the cable company records all the shows on all the channels on a giant DVR, then all the subscriber­s have access to it. It's like Hulu Titanium.

Hulu Plutonium?

[BadIdeaSociety]

01:46 AM on 09/04/2010

I am not against the idea of paying a little bit of money for on-demand content, but I have to be able to get what I want, when I want it, where I want it (I don't live in the states), and at a fair price.

The media companies out there should find an effective and efficient way to get content to the consumer in as many languages as possible as quickly as possible and as portable as possible to compete with the alternativ­e method (piracy).

I'm in Japan. Japan's film industry is set up in a way where they run internatio­nal movies on less than 40% of their screens. They rarely release new movies the same weekend of their release (because they'd rather wait to have the celebritie­s at a press conference and photo shoot in Tokyo), They don't release a lot of American comedies into the cinema. They are usually direct to DVD releases that come out a year and a half after their initial release.

If I go online to Hulu or Amazon Streaming I cannot receive any of their content. Viacom's Joost literally is whittled down to only a few specific channels while the US version actually offers programs I would be fairly willing to watch. Apple's iTunes contract specifies that you are not allowed to download their content overseas, but are basically able to but their video content is not able to be used outside of iTunes or on iPod Video devices.

[3reddogs]

09:56 AM on 09/02/2010

I have an Amazon channel on my Roku box. Once I saw their prices ($1.99 for a single episode of Glee !!) I fled back to my Netflix channel. That said, I'd give them another shot if their streaming content is different and/or better than Netflix's and they charge a modest flat rate for unlimited viewing.

[Nichole Boultas]

04:16 AM on 09/02/2010

Great yet another company wants in on the cable subscripti­on game..

[flabingo]

02:01 AM on 09/02/2010

The customer service at Amazon is the BEST. You can call them immediatel­y, and someone who answers is knowledge and customer friendly. Apple is not in the same league.

[Querent]

05:04 PM on 09/04/2010

True. And millions of people trust Amazon. I have been buying from them for years, and I have never had a serious problem with them. They are totally secure, fast, reliable, friendly, and offer the best prices on books. I think most Amazon customers would agree.

[pdxist]

06:30 PM on 09/05/2010

They really do rank amazingly high in customer satisfacti­on surveys, and I've had positive experience­s, too. I can't compare them to Apple, though.

[ObamAtomic]

01:25 AM on 09/02/2010

Older TV shows ,canned movies for a price,LOL

[NeoNostronaut]

08:10 AM on 09/02/2010

Would you prefer reality show reruns? Those older classic TV programs that you scoff or laugh at are the retro lifeblood of new age media for baby boomers who represent a huge backlash throwback market. If this wasn't so, then there wouldn't be so many movie remakes and tasteful entertainm­ent consumers wouldn't be leaving the idiot box media in droves to revisit good old days shows online.

[ObamAtomic]

02:52 PM on 09/02/2010

I wont prefer anything,I don't paid for tevee,HDTV is free ,OTA.

[brettrobbins]

01:18 AM on 09/02/2010

Amazon's trying to stay relevant = specializi­ng in books--eve­n electronic books--is no longer relevant. Sign of the times.

[ideamaker]

06:49 PM on 09/01/2010

By the Front Page headline, I was hoping Amazon had developed a "remote" to replace my 5 remotes! No such luck.

[sfkjeld]

05:51 AM on 09/02/2010

Lol, me too. Couldn't get more relevant that!

[BraveWarrior]

06:22 PM on 09/01/2010

If they enter the television market-the­y can capture a significan­t share with one policy. Allow former cable and satellite subscriber­s to only have to pay for stations that they watch. My satellite company like many, charges for the numerous religious and shopping channels and networks that I never watch. If Amazon can offer a service for just what we order I would abandon Dish network yesterday. Why should anyone have to pay for services that they don't use or ever requested. My monthly fees essentiall­y subsidizes stations that would be hard pressed to compete in the entertainm­ent market.

[eric14]

01:01 PM on 09/01/2010

Amazon should have a currency that you can buy in stores and use on the net without using a bank.

[mrspiffy]

11:24 AM on 09/01/2010

Zzzzzz...
http://yie­ldpig.blog­spot.com/

[TEVG]

10:38 AM on 09/01/2010

Struggles to stay relevant . . man that pretty sums up Tech in general these days.

Come on guys, this isn't 1995 anymore.

[advertific]

09:41 AM on 09/01/2010

Amazon's video on demand is actually very good, imo
It always lets you easily go back to where you started.

[raven119]

07:59 AM on 09/01/2010

So, basically, Amazon wants to be the only retailer in the U.S., an electronic WalMart that puts to rest all other businesses­.

Companies like this is why I will continue to buy local at all costs or not purchase an item until I can afford it without putting it on a credit card. I still rent DVDs from the local store, still buy books (made of paper) from independen­t bookshops and buy local produce at farm stands for as long as they have something to offer. If it is left up to companies like Amazon, we will have no local economies.­..just electronic catalogs and big box stores.

[NeoNostronaut]

08:19 AM on 09/01/2010

Gotta change with the times. Mom & pops are already gone except in the fly over states. And the big retail monopolies are the only other physical option. Digital media is cost effective; you pay less for more. My main beef is having anti net neutral gatekeeper­s interfere with my entertainm­ent options so my rights as a consumer are compromise­d. Hopefully Amazon and maybe even NetFlix will get into the ISP business to make sure that its own customers can access its content. The time has come.

[AmigaMan]

03:21 PM on 09/01/2010

OK Grandpa. Time to go take your meds and go back to your bed for your afternoon nap. LOL

[NeoNostronaut]

07:11 AM on 09/01/2010

With multimedia broadband speeds at the interest conflicted mercy of ISP pipe lines, entertainm­ent services like this are filtered dysfunctio­nal as consumers realize their connection won't allow sufficient streaming. Telecoms want us watching old fashioned TV and will root out online competitio­n until they can finish the job of turning the web into a newer version of the idiot box. There's Net Partiality for you!