Amazon Prime Video Subscriptions Explained

Amazon Prime Video – another way of cutting the cord?

It seems like Amazon frequently tweaks its Amazon Prime benefits. What started off as a way to get free 2-day shipping has evolved into a wide range of benefits, including:

• Prime Instant Video – This is an array of free movies and TV shows. I use this benefit pretty often with my Vizio smart TV.
• Prime Photos – You can have unlimited storage for your photos plus and additional 5GB of free storage.
• Prime Pantry – Fit as much of your groceries into a box for a flat fee of $5.99. Amazon keeps track of what’s in your box and let’s you know when it’s full.
• Early access to Lightning Deals – 30 minutes before anyone else.
• Borrow a book from the Lending Library – each month free to read on your Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet or Fire phone.
• Share your membership with up to four people – so they can get free shipping too.

Amazon Prime now offers a wide variety of subscription-based streaming options through its new “Streaming Partners Program”. The program includes add-on subscriptions to Showtime and Starz, as well as other offerings, available through Amazon’s video app. Supported platforms include Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Fire TV and Roku. While Apple TV and Chromecast are conspicuously absent from the list, the subscriptions can be viewed through the stand-alone apps on these devices.

While Showtime and Starz are each priced at $8.99/month with a 7-day free trial, the other offerings vary in cost and trial period:

• Acacia TV – $6.99 with 10-day free trial (workouts)
• Acorn TV – $4.99 with a 30-day free trial (primarily British TV)
• Comedy Central’s Standup+ – $3.99 with a 7-day free trial
• Con TV – $4.99 with 7-day free trial (Comic Con)
• CuriosityStream – $5.99 with a 30-day free trial (documentaries)
• Dove Channel – $4.99 with 7-day free trial (family fare)
• Drama Fever Instant – $3.99 with a 7-day free trial (hit dramas from around the world)
• gaia – $9.95 with a 7-day free trial (yoga, meditation and documentaries)
• hooplakidz – $5.99 with 7-day free trial
• IndieFlix Shorts – $2.99 with 30-day free trial
• Lifetime Movie Club – $3.99 with a 7-day free trial
• Qello Concerts -$7.99 with a 7-day free trial
• Ring TV – $2.99 with 7-day free trial (boxing)
• Screen Junkies – $4.99 with a 30-day free trial
• Shudder – $4.99 with a 14-day free trial (you guessed it — horror)
• Smithsonian Earth – $3.99 with a 7-day free trial
• SundanceNow Doc Club – $6.99 with a 30-day free trial
• Tribeca Short List – $4.99 with a 14-day free trial (award-winning films, indies and classics)

To subscribe:

1.  Log on to your Amazon account in your browser.
2. Under ‘Your Account’, click on ‘Your Video Subscriptions’.
3. Click on ‘Add more video subscriptions’.
4. Click on what you want to subscribe to, such as Showtime.
5. Click on ‘Learn More’.
6. Click on the Free Trial button.

There is pretty much something for everyone among the wide range of offerings. With the free trials, it’s definitely worth giving some of them a try.