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Amazon Channels hoping to aggregate US content

Amazon wants to beef up its offering with additional subscriptions, but will face challenges in the market.

Amazon is rumoured to be looking to beef up its subscription offering with Amazon Channels, a suite of aggregated third-party channels and streaming services.

But it will face challenges in Australia.

In the US Amazon Channels, which is priced in addition to Amazon Prime Video subscription, HBO, Showtime, CBS All Access, Major League Baseball, NBA League Pass, Comedy Central and STARZ.

Available through online only, they allow customers to pick and choose the content that suits them. The HBO channel is $US14.99 per month and Showtime is $US8.99 per month.

Bu HBO already has an exclusive deal with Foxtel and Showtime with Stan in Australia.

The Australian Financial Review reports the problem for other content providers such as NBCU, BBC and Discovery is their contracts with Foxtel likely have a ‘most favoured nation’ clause, meaning if they offered better terms to Amazon, they would need to offer Foxtel the same terms.

The newspaper suggests Amazon Channels is hoping to launch in Australia in 2020.

7 Responses

  1. I’m trying to find a streaming service that shows Chicago PD. But can’t find any. I had foxtel now to watch Big Little Lies & a place to call home but it wasn’t on it which is odd since it’s on foxtel. Someone told me to try Hulu but it wouldn’t let me sign up to it. It’s maddening, you would think someone would have it.

    1. Nope, has a plethora of great originals and some older series like Pysch and Monk along with what I would say is the most Australian content from Films to TV Series even Cash And Company/Tandarra which I haven’t seen in years (along with All Together Now and others). Of those I must say it’s been great rewatching Heartbreak High from the beginning and City Homicide stands up pretty well, good catching films like Deat In Brunswick, Sunday Too Far Away, Dons Party and the original Storm Boy as well.

      But yeah find more on there than Netflix these days.

    2. If you are talking about amazon prime video then, no. It has lots of movies and tv shows plus documentaries. It also has a bunch of older Australian dramas like rush and water rats. For $60 a year for free delivery from amazon plus this streaming service it is great value.

  2. Do we know if Stan’s contract for Showtime expires anytime soon? I’m sure CBS/10 All Access is waiting for it to expire to boost their own service. When All Access launched, the boss of Stan didn’t say anything other than “We’re not worried”

  3. Well Amazon as a company have developed a bit of commercial clout in Australia in recent times. Australian pay TV is in a quandary with the expansion of global streaming services, Foxtel still has the legacy of its former pay to view monopoly but as Netflix is discovering broadcast rights can be removed if vested interests demand it, only the small subscriber base in Australia saves Foxtel for the time being. Foxtel will have to restructure itself at some point or find itself eventually absorbed by one of the large U.S. media consortiums, Mr.Murdoch isn’t likely to try to match them and the federal government will only hold back the inevitable take over for so long .

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