Television Amazon Prime Video

Brwned

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Why does it exist?

Almost nobody signs up to Prime because of Prime Video, for many it's a nice bonus and for others it's largely irrelevant, but there's very little to suggest that it makes people more likely to stick and even less to suggest it convinces people to pay for the entire subscription. They spend billions on it, and it's hard to see how the numbers justify it.

They don't publish the viewing figures, but some reports have suggested that between 25-30% of Prime users watch it at all, and yet somehow it picks up the reputation as a "behemoth in the world of media and entertainment", with subscriber numbers "worlds away from distant number three player Hulu (about 30 million)".

Eventually many of these articles go on to suggest something ominous, like how it helps "to further extend its 360-degree online/offline integration into, and relentless domination of, our daily lives".

Sure, it seems reasonable to say Amazon intend to do that, and influencing culture inevitably features in any world domination plan. But it's so low key, so bad, that it doesn't remotely influence culture. And if they're already investing billions in it with such little success, what's the chances that'll change?

Anyone else think it's just a bit shit, surrounded by a load of bluster?
 

Drainy

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Like you say, along with Prime Music its a nice bonus. Makes it feel less shit when you have a month or two not buying anything and using the Prime delivery.

I have used both heavily since moving home and its been pretty great.
 

Skills

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I use it. Cancelled my Netflix subscription because it's better value having Prime
 

esmufc07

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There's some decent stuff on there but a lot of it is fairly 'meh'. That said for £39/year along with everything else I get with Prime I really can't complain.
 

Chipper

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Yeah, I'm not bothered about it all. Then again I barely watch any telly apart from sport. Usually just watch stuff on Youtube for general entertainment.

Quite like that you get Twitch Prime with it. Not really watched much Twitch lately so the free sub to a channel isn't getting used either, it's all about those free games they give you every month for me.

Edit: That actually reminded me to check what they're dishing out this month: Desert Child, American Fugitive, Steredenn, Narcos: Rise of Cartels and White Night.

Not bad, already got White Night, the others are new to me. It's kind of getting a little games bundle from the likes of Fanatical or Humble Bundle once a month thrown in to the price.
 
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Brwned

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I use it.

I mean I've got prime for the delivery service, why would I be stupid enough to have this there and ignore some of the great stuff they put out?
Yeah, it's a nice bonus. I really liked the Man in the High Castle and have watched some other stuff. In comparison to all of the other providers though, Netflix, HBO, Hulu...the original content is worse (based on critical or popular ratings), their range is more limited and a lot of the stuff comes with extra one-off fees, and it's a little bit clunkier. So as a standalone offer, it's not very impressive. And if it wasn't for the fact you had wanted free deliveries, you wouldn't consider signing up to it alone. So if it doesn't convince more people to sign up, its cultural impact is pretty minimal, its overall service is inferior to its competitors...why do Amazon invest billions in it?
 

Fiskey

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Yeah, it's a nice bonus. I really liked the Man in the High Castle and have watched some other stuff. In comparison to all of the other providers though, Netflix, HBO, Hulu...the original content is worse (based on critical or popular ratings), their range is more limited and a lot of the stuff comes with extra one-off fees, and it's a little bit clunkier. So as a standalone offer, it's not very impressive. And if it wasn't for the fact you had wanted free deliveries, you wouldn't consider signing up to it alone. So if it doesn't convince more people to sign up, its cultural impact is pretty minimal, its overall service is inferior to its competitors...why do Amazon invest billions in it?
Bezos is an egomaniac and wants to have fingers in every pie?
 

SirAF

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There are a few nuggets on Prime, I really liked James May: Our Man in Japan. That said, I wouldn’t pay a higher price than what they currently charge.
 

Redlambs

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Yeah, it's a nice bonus. I really liked the Man in the High Castle and have watched some other stuff. In comparison to all of the other providers though, Netflix, HBO, Hulu...the original content is worse (based on critical or popular ratings), their range is more limited and a lot of the stuff comes with extra one-off fees, and it's a little bit clunkier. So as a standalone offer, it's not very impressive. And if it wasn't for the fact you had wanted free deliveries, you wouldn't consider signing up to it alone. So if it doesn't convince more people to sign up, its cultural impact is pretty minimal, its overall service is inferior to its competitors...why do Amazon invest billions in it?
TMITHC was always an interesting idea, but I got bored of it before the end of season 1. It just seemed off to me. And I agree, I wouldn't buy it just for content, if it wasn't for the use of delivers I'd not have it.

As for why Amazon do what they do, it's because it's smart to invest in everything and grow the company overall to not only compete, but eventually have the infrastructure to buy out their competitors to continue created the global behemoth. As with Tesla, it's not about the profit it's about the brand and the investors.
 

George Owen

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Yeah, it's a nice bonus. I really liked the Man in the High Castle and have watched some other stuff. In comparison to all of the other providers though, Netflix, HBO, Hulu...the original content is worse (based on critical or popular ratings), their range is more limited and a lot of the stuff comes with extra one-off fees, and it's a little bit clunkier. So as a standalone offer, it's not very impressive. And if it wasn't for the fact you had wanted free deliveries, you wouldn't consider signing up to it alone. So if it doesn't convince more people to sign up, its cultural impact is pretty minimal, its overall service is inferior to its competitors...why do Amazon invest billions in it?
The Lord of the Rings series could be the game changer.
 

Un4givableB

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I think l have it because I've got Amazon Prime but only used it when they were showing ELP games, there are just too many tv and movie content providers to keep up with want's good. So l basically only watch the news and sports live on tv
and download everything else despite paying money to watch(some of :)) it.
 

dbs235

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Film-wise it's no worse than Netflix. And it's got some good series on there (The Office, Two and a Half Men)
 

Redlambs

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I think l have it because I've got Amazon Prime but only used it when they were showing ELP games, there are just too many tv and movie content providers to keep up with want's good. So l basically only watch the news and sports live on tv
and download everything else despite paying money to watch(some of :)) it.
Oooh you rebel!
 

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Amazon are the modern pioneers of the 'lose money to gain market share' strategy.
 

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So if it doesn't convince more people to sign up, its cultural impact is pretty minimal, its overall service is inferior to its competitors...why do Amazon invest billions in it?
Simple, data. It's service though is just as good as any out there.
 

P-Ro

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The NFL All Or Nothing series' are fantastic.
 

Dante

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They're trying to corner a lucrative market, but know it won't be quick.

Amazon own AWS, which is 34% of the cloud. Their overheads will be smaller than Netflix's, and as long as Amazon can remain cheaper, they'll chip away at their rivals.

The business model for Amazon is to be in it for the long run. At the moment it's about establishing a market presence, but eventually they'll be able to out-compete everyone on the financial side. At that point, they can scoop up all the content creators that have nowhere else to go.

Oh, and it drives traffic to their website giving them personal data about their viewers. That's no small thing.
 

Olly Gunnar Solskjær

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I need to get a Firestick or Roku kind of thing so I can watch Prime stuff in bed, I'll use it a lot more then. So far I've only used it to watch Seinfeld.
 

VeevaVee

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I can only imagine they're gearing up to improve it eventually. It probably swings some people who are on the fence into paying for Prime too. Whether it's worth that I dunno, but keeping people in the Amazon loop is probably valuable.
 

Redlambs

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They're trying to corner a lucrative market, but know it won't be quick.

Amazon own AWS, which is 34% of the cloud. Their overheads will be smaller than Netflix's, and as long as Amazon can remain cheaper, they'll chip away at their rivals.

The business model for Amazon is to be in it for the long run. At the moment it's about establishing a market presence, but eventually they'll be able to out-compete everyone on the financial side. At that point, they can scoop up all the content creators that have nowhere else to go.

Oh, and it drives traffic to their website giving them personal data about their viewers. That's no small thing.
Yep, coupled with the likes of the twitch explosion and other ventures, they are sewing up the future viewers too.
 

Snow

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I've watched Good Omens, Fleabag, Transparent, The Expanse, Red Oaks, The Boys on it an am currently watching Vinland Saga which has an episode come out weekly. It has its bingeworthy TV shows and a selection of movies.

Like any other streaming service you don't need to be suscribed all the time but Prime has extra benefits and is half the price of Netflix. It's fine.

Some promising upcoming content from them. Wheel of Time and LOTR shows. Al Pacino hunting nazies.
 

Grinner

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I use it and like it. I've been ploughing through 5 seasons of The gentle Touch. It's really good and much better than I remember when it was on telly. Think I also watched Spaced on there.
 

Castia

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I like it.

I usually subscribe for 4-5 months of the year and watch the latest stuff alongside my annual Office US rewatch.

The Boys is a decent show they released a few months ago.
 

The Don

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I mean, try watching Bosch, Goliath, Loudermilk, Hand of God, Sneaky Pete, Red Oaks, Vikings etc. Plus the live sports add that into free one day delivery and the price all in, ist too bad at all, for what you receive.
 

Prometheus

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Plus you can use a VPN to sign into the .com one and watch Sopranos etc.
 

NWRed

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Amazon are the modern pioneers of the 'lose money to gain market share' strategy.
Amazon's business model is all around gaining your data then selling it, it's why you get so much for £80 per year. The a huge variety of services they offer means they open up more markets to sell that data to, which is where they make their money.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Music, prime and free/fast delivery is a great combination for the price. No doubt Netflix has better content than Prime but it's hardly as though the latter has very little. The Boys was excellent I thought. Mrs Maisel I've recently started and am liking it. Seen many movies as well as Indian shows too.
 

Suv666

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Music, prime and free/fast delivery is a great combination for the price. No doubt Netflix has better content than Prime but it's hardly as though the latter has very little. The Boys was excellent I thought. Mrs Maisel I've recently started and am liking it. Seen many movies as well as Indian shows too.
Check out fleabag, its great
 

crappycraperson

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I absolutely signed up for prime here in India just for the video and music. They are even producing good Indian TV content on top of adding latest Hollywood/Bollywood movies and US TV shows to their library every week.
 

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I use it. Sometimes it's good for stuff you can't find on Netflix, esp films which are crap on Netflix.
 

11101

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It's nowhere near Netflix. The back catalogue is pretty lacklustre and their original stuff is mostly forgettable, with a couple of exceptions. Plus, the unskippable pre-show adverts are infuriating and the interface isn't great.

I have it because its 25 quid here and the Prime delivery makes it worthwhile, but there's no way i'd pay the 80 they want in the UK and i wouldnt buy it as a standalone service.
 

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I think it's a bargain at €8.

I also think their originals are generally better than netflix originals, it's just that Netflix churn out so much that you're bound to get a few good ones. Patriot, The Boy's, Marvelous Ms Maisel, Bosch, first season of Goliath, Undone are a few that pop into my head straight away.

And the free deliveries are great for Ireland because otherwise most stuff under €25 costs money to deliver.