Retail giant Amazon started offering a monthly subscription for its services on Sunday, April 17. Prime membership is priced at US$10.99, while Prime Video membership is at US$8.99.
Mashable reported that the new option offered by Amazon was met enthusiastically by its customers. Many are not comfortable putting down US$100 upfront for a service they are not sure they will be able to consume in the first place, but with this scheme, they can just pay monthly as long as they like.
Aside from the Prime Video service, the original Prime premium service is also available on a monthly basis at US$10.99. This includes all the benefits of the Amazon Prime membership, the Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos and the 2-day free shipping. Regular online shoppers will get the most out of this membership type,Wired reported.
However, not everybody wants the all-in service. Many also prefer to avail of just the video service. Amazon Prime Video, for the past couple years, has been making its video service stronger with programs exclusive to the retail giant. These include drama titles such as "Bosch," "Hand of God," and "The Man in the High Castle." Comedy genre shows include the ongoing "Mozart in the Jungle" and "Transparent." Recently concluded comedy shows include "Mad Dogs" and "Red Oaks."
Amazon Prime Videos also plans to put other exclusive shows, which include an untitled Woody Allen TV series, an untitled motoring show featuring W. Chump and Sons, "Z: The Beginning of Everyhting," "One Mississippi," "The Last Tycoon," "Jack Ryan" and a few more.
Prior to this offering, Amazon Prime membership was only offered on an annual basis, at US$99, and is still available. According to the company, the monthly payment scheme is targeted at new subscribers who do not want an annual commitment, CNN Money reported.
Overall, a subscription to the Prime Video service for 12 months still sums up to US$108. The new monthly subscription goes up against its direct competitors, Netflix's US$9.99 and Hulu's ad-free US$11.99.
