Showtime, Starz Kick Off Amazon Video Subscription Sales

The internet company launched a new initiative called “Streaming Partners Program” Tuesday that allows Prime members to add subscription programming from close to 20 partners for an added fee to their Prime video service.

Other subscriptions offered through the new program including Comedy Central Stand-Up Plus, which will stream the Viacom-owned network’s stand-up specials as well as television episodes from comedians like Amy Schumer for $3.99 a month, British television service Acorn TV, Lifetime Movie Club and DramaFever Instant. The program offers the ability to watch streaming videos from Showtime, Starz, A+E Network, AMC and other content providers.

For users, this means that you can now directly pay for and manage subscriptions to services like Showtime and Starz through Amazon’s platform, and to entice users to sign up, the company has struck deals for reduced cost access in some instances. It’s not pure kindness on Amazon’s part, of course (you’re locked into Prime to make this work), but it makes ditching conventional TV for streaming slightly easier – even if it looks a lot like the cable bundle you just left.

Looking to target the growing number of cord-cutters who are opting out of costly pay-TV all-in subscriptions, Amazon is adding another swathe of video content to its Prime, its members-only video, music and free delivery subscription service. All are pushing the boundaries of how to package movies and TV shows to best entice consumers fed up with expensive cable packages and younger viewers whose entertainment experience revolves around online options rather than traditional TV.

In addition to keeping all of your subscriptions in one place, Amazon suggests that there will be other advantages for viewers who take advantage of the Streaming Partners Program.

While Starz and Showtime, with its popular “Homeland” series, may be a draw, the list of available channels delves quickly into the obscure. Hulu began offering Showtime as an add-on to its subscriptions in July, also offering the service at a discount of $8.99 a month. However, this time the heads of both Showtime and Starz have shown their utmost excitement in partnering up with Amazon, as they believe convenience is the key to drive growth. For example, a subscription to Showtime costs $9 a month. Indeed, Amazon’s news release reads like a marketing pitch to land other Web-video services.