Tag Archives: amazon

Amazon Has Exclusive Streaming Rights to CBS’s Under The Dome

Amazon isn’t going to just sit around and watch Netflix continue to offer exclusives to its customers.

It recently announced an exclusive deal with PBS to stream Downton Abbey and earlier today,  Amazon announced it has made a deal with CBS to become the exclusive in-season online stream provider for it’s upcoming series, Under the Dome. Unlike Hulu, shows will be available to Prime subscribers 4 days after their original air date. If you aren’t a Prime account holder, Amazon will also be the exclusive renter/seller of episodes.

Under the Dome tells the story of a small New England town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome.Under the Dome earned widespread critical acclaim and #1 best-seller status when it was first published by Simon & Schuster’s Scribner in 2009 and was an Amazon.combestseller in both Books and Kindle Books in 2009.

Source: Amazon

Wreck-It Ralph Will Be Disney’s First Movie Released Earlier Digitally

Disney is jumping on the early digital delivery bandwagon and releasing Wreck-It Ralph February 12, 2013, nearly a month before it’s retail disc date, March 5, 2013.

I’m not sure which services the download will be available from: iTunes? Amazon? VUDU? CinemaNow? Also unknown is what the price will be.

If Disney follows Fox, we’ll be able to buy from all those sources at $15. I watched Wreck-It Ralph in theaters in 2D and found it very entertaining. While watching CG on Blu-ray is undoubtedly the best way to experience this movie, I would definitely recommend owning this movie digitally if the price is right. You can also check out Eugene’s review.

Source: Engadget

Fox To Lower Price of Digital Copies and Release Them Earlier

 

How do you get people to purchase something that isn’t selling well? Lower the price, of course! That’s the strategy Fox is banking on to boost digital copy sales on services like Amazon, CinemaNow, iTunes, and VUDU.

Not enough? What if Fox sweetened the deal by giving the digital copy an advanced release date over the DVD/Blu-ray?

Starting September 18th, Fox will be serve movies to under the name Digital HD (DHD) and the first title is Prometheus, which will be made available about 3 weeks before the Blu-ray (October 11, 2012). Other titles such as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Watch, Ice Age: Continental Drift will also be available for around $15 before their disc releases.

I am definitely a fan of the VUDU UltraViolet service and think this is a big step in the right direction. Blu-ray prices continue to drop but the sacrafice of sharability, extras, and nice packaging seems like a strong case for digital copies to be significantly cheaper. At $15 dollars, we can arguably call this a bargain. The Blu-ray for Prometheus is currently listed for $27.96 on Amazon. Sure, we get extras that we may or may not watch but at $15 dollars, we’re paying about the same price as one movie ticket.

Chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, James Gianopulos, said Fox would offer the new low price for forthcoming movies but what about catalog titles? Shouldn’t those also be repriced?

With plenty of titles in my Netflix/HBO Go queue, the window of theatrical and home video release has never been a big factor in my interest of purchasing digital copies. It’s always been price. Let’s hope the other studios follow or go a step further in releasing titles earlier or at a lower price.

Source: New York Times via Engadget

Amazon Invites Writers and Creators To Pitch Their Shows

With video services like Hulu and Netflix now offering exclusive shows of their own, it’s no surprise that Amazon is also giving content makers a chance to bring their show to the masses via the web. All the specifics, including financial compensation rates, are outlined on Amazon.

Amazon’s approach appears to be open to anyone, which could make reviewing entries a mixed bag. As far as length goes, Amazon is only looking for 11 or 22 minute pilots that are “smart and character-driven”. Is it possible to develop characters in such a short time? The requirements also note either a comedy series or children series.

As far as hints as to what Amazon is looking for when it comes to comedy, the shows Archer and Curb Your Enthusiasm are cited as examples and says the show must fall “within the normal television standards for content and language”.

Whatever series is selected will surely contrast Netflix’s first original series, Lilyhammer, which doesn’t hold back any punches when it comes to vulgar language suited for mature audiences only.

We should continue to expect Amazon to expand its video service offerings, especially since they recently gained more viewers in the living room now that Playstation 3 owners can watch

Source: Amazon