Amazon Adds NBCUniversal Video to Prime Offerings

The deal is really nothing particularly unusual — an Internet video streaming service adding old shows to its lineup. Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Hulu and many other streaming services do this all the time. About a month ago Amazon said it would let viewers help it choose the first of its original productions to add to the Prime service.

That was mildly interesting, but just a page from Netflix’s book. Somehow or other, the video streaming companies are going to have to shake loose new programming from the established media firms like Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) and others. Original programming like Netflix’s “House of Cards” proved to be a huge success, according to the company, and that is what drove Amazon to jump into the fray.

Of course all of these have to compete with Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube, which is far and away the leading provider of video content. That is because most of YouTube’s videos are made by amateurs and the videos are free. If — and it is a big “if” — YouTube can get viewers to pay for the various channels it has begun to offer, Google could end up putting a huge dent in revenues and profits at Netflix, Amazon Prime and others.