Amazon this morning announced a deal with NBCUniversal to add more shows to the Amazon Prime Instant Video service, including past seasons of Parks and Recreation, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, and the 2004-2009 Battlestar Galactica series.
The Seattle company is trying to beef up its catalog as it competes with the likes of Netflix and Hulu for a share of the money people spend on subscription-based streaming video services.
Amazon says it now offers more than 22,000 movies and TV episodes at no extra charge to people who belong to the $79/year Amazon Prime subscription service, which also provides free shipping and Kindle book rentals.
Episodes and movies available for individual rental or purchase through the broader Amazon Instant Video service now number more than 120,000. Amazon Prime videos represent a portion of that larger catalog.
Amazon has simultaneously been expanding the reach of the Amazon Instant Video service with new apps for devices including Xbox 360 and iPad.
So how is Amazon doing vs. the competition? Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and finance chief David Wells wrote in their July letter to shareholders, “We have yet to see HuluPlus or Amazon Prime Instant Video gain meaningful traction relative to our viewing hours, but as we continue to build a domestic profit stream they are likely to increase their efforts to gain viewing share.”
