Amazon to Increase Video Spend, Raise Prices on Prime in the U.S.

Amazon is planning to raise the cost of its annual Prime offering, which includes the video service, as it also intends to increase its spending on content.

The annual cost of a Prime membership, including shipping and video streaming, will increase from $99 a year to $119 for customers in the U.S. The change is set to go into effect May 11, and it will apply to Prime renewals beginning June 16. This is the first time Amazon has increased the cost of an annual Prime subscription since 2014, when it was originally priced at $79.

Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s chief financial officer, said on the earnings call that video content spend will increase year on year.

For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Amazon reported revenues of $51 billion, up 43 percent year-on-year. Net income more than doubled to $1.6 billion, compared to $724 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Additionally, the National Football League (NFL) reached an agreement to renew its exclusive partnership with Amazon Prime Video to deliver a live OTT digital stream of Thursday Night Football during the 2018 and 2019 NFL seasons. Amazon Prime will stream the 11 Thursday Night Football games broadcast by FOX, which will also be simulcast on NFL Network and distributed in Spanish on FOX Deportes.

“Our customers love to stream football—last year, we successfully debuted NFL Thursday Night Football on Prime Video in the U.S. and around the world,” said Jeff Blackburn, senior VP of business development and entertainment at Amazon. “We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with the NFL and offer Prime members another two seasons of Thursday Night Football.”