Shares of Netflix,
Inc.(NASDAQ:NFLX) slumped 7% to $55.74 as Internet retailer Amazon.com,
Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) and movie services company Epix reached a pact that will
allow Amazon to stream several recent blockbuster films through its Prime
Instant video service for free, the company announced today.
Epix has a joint venture for
movie licenses from Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and
Lionsgate.
It had also earlier had an
exclusive streaming agreement with Netflix, Inc. that had ended back in August.
That means Amazon’s streaming library is even more competitive with
industry-leader Netflix.
The current licensing
agreement between the two companies will now allow Amazon to stream tons of
big-ticket movies 90 days after they are released to retail stores. Some of the
movies coming to Prime include Marvel’s The Avengers, Iron Man 2, Transformer: Dark of the Moon,
Thor, The Hunger Games, and many more.
Can NFLX Recover After Today’s Slump? Find Out Here
The Prime Instant Video
library is a complimentary service that’s part of Amazon’s Prime membership, a
$79-a-year “club” that gives customers free shipping on lots of items sold
through the site.
Amazon did not
disclose the terms of the deal, but the company is "investing hundreds of
millions of dollars to expand the Prime Instant Video library," Bill Carr,
vice president of video and music at Amazon, said in a statement.
The company is also scheduled
to make an announcement Thursday regarding the next generation of Kindle
devices. And since the location of the press event is set right bang next to Hollywood, many are
speculating that there could be another big movie-related announcement up its
sleeve.
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