Amazon has allowed users of its Amazon Prime service to stream a selection of movies and TV shows for the service"s price of $79 a year since February 2011. However, that significant upfront price didn"t directly compete with similar streaming businesses like Netflix or Hulu Plus, who have priced their own services at $7.99 a month.
Now, it appears that Amazon is planning to compete more directly with its rivals" pricing. The site Hacking Netflix has spotted a $7.99 a month plan on the Amazon.com website. The plan retains the other aspects of Amazon Prime - namely, the free two-day shipping on most orders, no minimum order size and a free eBook you can borrow to read via Kindle.
Of course, Amazon Prime"s $79 a year plan is technically cheaper than either Netflix or Hulu Plus over a 12 month period (you have to pay $95.88 a year with those two services). However, the ability to check out Amazon.com for at least a few months instead of committing to a year might be more attractive to consumers.
So far, Amazon has yet to officially say anything about a $7.99 a month Amazon Prime plan, but if they are testing this we should hear something about it very soon.
Source: Hacking Netflix | Image via Hacking Netflix