Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is getting further into the media download game. The online retail aggregator and seller of books, CDs, and DVDs has announced that its customers can now rent box-office favorites and they can purchase top TV shows in HD from Amazon Video On Demand.
Jeff Bezos and friends have noted that customers can select from more than 500 HD TV shows and movies from major studios and networks including Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Showtime Networks. This includes newly released movies and even made for TV films and episodes of cable series.
Customers can now order and watch movies and TV shows in HD on their televisions through compatible devices such as Roku, TiVo, HD, and HD XL DVRs, and the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link.
Amazon Video On Demand’s entire library of 40,000 titles, plus HD titles, are also available from today forward on Panasonic VIERA CAST enabled HDTVs for rent between $3.99 and $4.99.
Customers can also purchase and watch HD TV shows online on their Apple or PC through compatible devices or download them to their PC for offline viewing for $2.99.
This is so far not having any impact on shares as it is still probably going to be a very incremental business for the time being. We saw shares up 1.5% at $78.74 and the last trade so far was only at $78.80 in the after-hours session.
JON C. OGG