In a bold move on the streaming video front, Amazon yesterday announced that users of its Amazon Prime Video streaming service (which is part of a Prime annual subscription) can now download videos to mobile devices. They’ve also dropped the word “Instant” from their video offering–perhaps as a nod to the ability to watch a video without streaming it that moment. Downloading videos is currently supported on both the iOS and Android Amazon Video apps but will not be supported on laptop and desktop computers. Not every title will be available for download but Amazon original series (Transgender and others you haven’t heard of) and several key properties that Netflix is about to lose (such as Hunger Games, 24, and Star Trek Into Darkness) are all downloadable today.
Netflix has been the industry leader in the streaming video space for years but Amazon has been pushing back hard both on the pricing option (comparable by itself but there are other benefits to Prime such as free shipping and streaming/downloadable music) and the original programming front. Now that Amazon is pushing the functionality gameboard piece, we will have to wait and see if Netflix responds. Netflix has always said that they would not support downloading content but they also didn’t have a major competitor offering downloads.
Will Amazon Prime Video’s new feature make it attractive to travelers and influencers? Are you more or less likely to use this service now?
Gabbing Geek 