(NASDAQ: AMZN) – Over the past 12 months, Amazon has announced
agreements with every major Hollywood studio, as well as top cable
networks. Today, Amazon and EPIX announce a multi-year licensing
agreement in the U.S., which will add thousands of new releases, classic
library titles and original programs to Prime Instant Video. Programming
from the agreement includes movies from EPIX studio partners, Paramount
Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, and Lionsgate. The agreement
between Amazon and EPIX will more than double the number of titles
available with Prime Instant Video since Amazon introduced Kindle Fire
last September. Prime Instant Video now stands at over 25,000 movies and
TV episodes available to watch with instant, unlimited streaming at no
additional cost to Prime members. Customers who are not yet Prime
members can enjoy a free one month trial right out of the box with
Kindle Fire. To start watching Prime Instant Video, visit www.amazon.com/PIV.
This agreement between Amazon and EPIX will add new releases such as The
Avengers, Iron Man 2, The Hunger Games, Transformers Dark of the Moon,
Thor and Rango as well as popular favorites such as Kick Ass, Paranormal
Activity 2, True Grit, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Justin Bieber Never Say
Never. EPIX also brings original programming including comedy specials
and concerts such as Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell and Usher: Live from
London.
“We are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to expand the Prime
Instant Video library for our customers. We have now more than doubled
this selection of movies and TV episodes to over 25,000 titles in just
under a year,” said Bill Carr, Vice President of Video and Music at
Amazon. “We are thrilled to be able to offer our customers such popular
EPIX titles, many of which were just recently in theaters. We can tell
from the data that our customers love watching movies on Prime Instant
Video. We think customers will really enjoy watching new titles like The
Avengers, Iron Man 2 and The Hunger Games on their Kindle Fire,
PlayStation 3, Xbox, iPad or any of the other of the Amazon Instant
Video compatible devices.”
“We are excited to be working with Amazon and to bring our compelling
content to Amazon Prime and Kindle Fire customers,” said Mark Greenberg,
President and CEO of EPIX. “This partnership is yet another great
example of EPIX’s ability to broaden our reach through a digital
platform, underscoring the incredible value of the EPIX content
offering.”
Prime Instant Video offers Prime members access to more than 25,000
movies and TV episodes to instantly stream and enjoy at no additional
cost on Kindle Fire or any of the hundreds of compatible devices,
including Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 gaming console and the newest
addition, iPad. Prime Instant Video is a subset of the more than 120,000
movies and TV episodes available on Amazon
Instant Video, which includes new release movies and day after TV
shows, for customers to rent or purchase.
About Prime
Amazon Prime is an annual membership program for $79 a year that offers
customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items including
books, home and garden products, electronics, video games, clothing, and
much more. Amazon Prime members also get access to unlimited instant
streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes and access to tens of
thousands of books to borrow for free, as frequently as a book a month,
with no due dates from a Kindle device. Customers who receive free Prime
shipping benefits through our Amazon Student or Amazon Mom programs can
upgrade to an annual paid membership to receive Amazon Prime’s digital
benefits.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle,
opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s
Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most
customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything
they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the
lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of
unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books;
Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home
& Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health &
Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web
Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to
in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end
technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any
type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most
compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced
electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright
sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an
easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages,
search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most
advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line
e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch,
with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the
Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and
web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud,
Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated
web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core
processor.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,
www.amazon.co.uk,
www.amazon.de,
www.amazon.co.jp,
www.amazon.fr,
www.amazon.ca,
www.amazon.cn,
www.amazon.it,
and www.amazon.es.
As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include
Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly
from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to
competition, management of growth, new products, services and
technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international
expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center
optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and
strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption,
inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More
information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's
financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
About EPIX
EPIX is the newest premium entertainment network delivering the latest
movie releases, classic library titles, plus original films, comedy,
music and sports events on TV, on demand, online and on devices.
Launched October 2009 as the first multiplatform premium network with
online accessibility for subscribers through EpixHD.com, EPIX pioneered
the development and proliferation of TV Everywhere for American
consumers. EPIX was the first premium network to launch on Xbox
consoles, first on Android tablets and phones, first on Roku® players
and is available to authenticated subscribers on hundreds of devices
including Apple® iPads®, iPhones®, Samsung® Smart TVs and Blu-ray™
players and more. Today EPIX remains the only premium service providing
its entire monthly line-up from new Hollywood hits to original programs
on all platforms and provides more movies than any other premium network.
EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIA.B), its
Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), available to over 30 million homes nationwide
through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox
Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink
Communications and Verizon FiOS.
