Amazon.com Weighs Separate Video Streaming Service to Challenge Netflix

NEW YORK - BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield recently predicted that Amazon.com could this year launch a stand-alone video streaming service to challenge Netflix, which will report its latest quarterly financials after Wednesday's market close.

The New York Post said on Wednesday that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his team are indeed weighing to beef up the e-tailer’s streaming service and possibly making it a standalone subscription-based operation. 

Currently, Amazon’s Instant Video service, launched a year ago, is free for subscribers of the $79 per year unlimited shipping service Amazon Prime.

“They’re looking into it being a standalone subscription service,” one unnamed content executive told the Post, which said that Hollywood doesn’t like being a loss-leader for Amazon shipments of other products. Amazon has shelled out money for content from the likes of CBS, Fox, Walt Disney and NBCUniversal.

“Amazon is aggressively pursuing the same content strategy as Netflix and is spending a lot upfront to try to secure exclusivity," Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer, told the Post. "They won’t always get it, but they need to differentiate themselves.”

Amazon didn't comment, the Post said.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai