Amazon plans Prime additions

Amazon is reportedly set to add other TV and movie channels to its Prime Instant Video service as it aims to differentiate itself from rivals Netflix and Hulu.

The new feature will allow customers to add other online subscriptions to their accounts, as well as Amazon’s own pre-packaged bundles, according to a Bloomberg report.

It’s not yet clear which companies have deals in place with Amazon, but it is believed the online giant’s expanded offering could begin as early as next month.

The expanded service would be separate from Amazon’s plans to launch its own live TV service, as reported in October.

In the same month, Amazon also began offering members of its Prime streaming service the option to download TV series and films for offline viewing – a feature its rival Netflix has previously ruled out.

Amazon has been open to distributing other TV services through its Fire TV platform for some time, a service competitors Netflix and Hulu do not offer. However, Hulu customers do have the option to add CBS Corp’s Showtime streaming service to their subscriptions.

With Netflix expanding its global subscriber count to beyond 69 million, a surge of pay TV companies such as Time Warner have set up their own services as the competition intensifies.

Amazon has been investing heavily in content during 2015, including the big-money deal to bring Top Gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond to Prime with a new motoring series.

An Amazon spokesman declined to comment on the latest news.