Amazon is reportedly on the verge of announcing a streaming deal with Viacom, which could signal the launch of a standalone video on demand offering.
According to Reuters, Viacom which owns MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, has agreed to license its content to the Amazon and a deal will be announced soon.
That deal could be the final piece in the puzzle for Amazon to go full-steam ahead with the heavily-tipped VoD subscription service.
The company, which already has deals in place with the likes of Warner Bros, Fox, Sony, NBC and other top networks, currently offers its content library free to members of its $79-a-year home delivery service.
However, Amazon wants to offer the service to non-Prime members (probably for a monthly fee), in order to boost the Amazon Kindle Fire's content library, according to the Reuters article.
Look out, Netflix
An Amazon Prime monthly subscription service would put the company in direct competition with the current kingpin of home streaming, Netflix.
Netflix, which endured a largely forgettable 2011, is seeing more and more competitors arrive on the scene looking for a piece of the lucrative streaming pie.
Earlier this week we reported on the new alliance between Verizon and Redbox, which will see the companies launch a new service which will combine access to Redbox's disc rental kiosks and an all-new on-demand offering from Verizon.
With Apple and Google also pressing for a chunk of the action, Netflix is going to have to be on top of its game in 2012 to maintain the lion's share of the market.
Via: Reuters
