Amazon Prime offers monthly subscription services, To Compete With Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Online retailer Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) had upped the competition against established rival Netflix, Inc.(NASDAQ:NFLX) in video streaming services.

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The company, which offers its video services under Amazon Prime, said on Tuesday it had started offering some users membership for its subscription-based shipping and video streaming service for a monthly fee.

The monthly fee that it is charging at $7.99 is on par with what Netflix charges its subscribers for its online video movies and television shows.

The yearly membership at $79 is still available for members.

The Wall Street Journal said that the monthly offer fee came at right at the start of the crucial holiday selling season, when consumers are more inclined to look for short-term entertainment channels.

Amazon does not have the kind of library-size that Netflix possesses but has been rapidly ramping up its content-base.

In September it entered into a content acquisition deal with cable channel EPIX for the rights to popular releases such as 'The Avengers' 'Iron Man 2' and 'The Hunger Games'.

The company has said that it now had a library of over 25,000 titles and it looking to add more.

Video streaming services are popular, especially with those who look for entertainment on mobile devices such as laptops and tablet PCs. However it is highly price sensitive segment, as Netflix found out to its cost when it raised prices last year and found that a lot of its customers fleeing from its services.