New York – Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) is pitching a Web-based video
subscription service, in a bid to compete with rivals in the field such as Netflix,
Hulu, Apple’s revamped iTunes with video rentals and the forthcoming Google TV
service, The Wall Street Journal reported. Sources told The Journal that Amazon
has in recent weeks met with NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA) about
such a service, which reportedly would focus on older, catalog titles.
One
proposal would provide video subscriptions at no extra charge to existing
subscribers to the Amazon Prime shipping discount service.
Amazon already
operates a video download and rental service available across a range of
devices.
The company hopes to launch the new subscription-format service in time for the holiday
shopping season, but could delay that timeframe, depending on licensing talks
with content providers.
Related Links:
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(WSJ)
