Amazon Prime members to get free access to the Washington Post

With the addition of Los Angeles, Prime Now operates in 13 cities worldwide.

Amazon Prime members are being offered a free six month trial of the digital edition of the Washington Post and a discount on future subscriptions, in the first major step to bring the two businesses closer together by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos. Now, this doesn’t mean Prime members will be finding a physical newspaper on their doorstop each day, Amazon is smarter than that after all.

All 94 episodes of “Sex and the City” are now available on Amazon Prime Instant Video, available to USA members of the $99-per-year Prime free-shipping program. The Post will offer them a discounted rate of $3.99 per month, down from the usual $9.99.

This is certainly a win for the Post, which should immediately see a jump in its “paid” digital readership.

“The Washington Post offers world-class journalism that can be conveniently accessed through a variety of devices”, said Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon Prime. A year-long subscription for the Post’s digital edition traditionally costs customers $195; however, this new Prime deal would reduce it to just $48 per year.

Indeed, the integration gives WaPo a huge leg up in its competition with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, long the dominant national newspapers. Amazon is touting the promotion as a benefit to Prime members, but it also promises to be a boon for the Washington Post – giving the newspaper a deep connection to some of Amazon’s most loyal customers. According to the report, “The initiative, long in the works, bolsters the Post as a revivified national and global news source, one more competitive to the New York Times, among others”.