The latest in video on demand: Netflix announced new pricing plans, charging separately for streaming video and DVD/Blu-ray discs. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Instant Video is adding 2,000 episodes from CBS and Hulu, now talking to prospective buyers, says subscription Hulu Plus is on track to hit one million subscribers this summer. With these most recent developments — and the accompanying burst of comparison shopping, it’s worth taking a closer look at what each of these companies offer.
|
Netflix Watch Instantly |
Netflix DVD |
Hulu |
Hulu Plus |
Amazon Prime |
Amazon Instant Video |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
LINK |
||||||
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PRICING |
$8/month |
$8/month (1 at a time); |
Free |
$8/month |
$79/year for Amazon Prime, unlimited instant video included |
Pay per stream/download for rental or purchase. Rental fees are $3 or less; purchase fees are $15 or less |
|
WHO SUPPLIES |
Movies and TV shows (including past seasons of current shows) from Paramount Pictures, MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Disney, Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment, NBCU, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Disney-ABC, select WB shows, Starz Play with 1,000 titles |
TV shows and movies from Warner Bros., Universal Studios, Twentieth Century Fox |
Current and back season TV shows from more than 260 networks and studios like ABC, A&E, Comedy Central, FOX, Lionsgate, MGM, MTV, National Geographic, NBC, Paramount, and VH-1; movies from Miramax and Criterion Collection |
Current and back season TV shows from networks and studios like ABC, BET, Comedy Central, FOX, MTV, NBC, and VH-1; hundreds of movies from both Miramax and the Criterion Collection |
ABC, NBCU, Viacom, BBC America, Sony Pictures Television, Travel Channel, WB, PBS, National Geographic, IFC Films, Vivendi. Adding CBS. |
ABC, NBCU, Viacom, BBC America, Sony Pictures Television, Travel Channel, WB, PBS, IFC FIlms, Vivendi, Nickelodeon. Adding CBS. |
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RENT OR OWN |
Rent |
Rent |
Rent |
Rent |
Rent and/or own |
Rent and/or own |
|
TV CONTENT WINDOW |
Library titles |
Library titles |
Day after broadcast for current season, back season library of hundreds of popular TV shows |
Day after and limited viewing window |
Library titles |
Day after |
|
MOVIE CONTENT WINDOW |
28 days after DVD release; smaller selection than DVD offerings |
28 days after DVD release |
Varies by movie |
Varies by movie |
Library titles |
Same day as DVD release |
|
ADS |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
HD |
Yes (720p) (Sony PlayStation 3 offers 1080p) |
Select Blu-ray titles available |
No |
Yes, when available |
Yes (720p) |
Yes (720p) |
|
DEVICES |
Computers, set top boxes, game consoles, streaming players, Blu-ray players, HDTV, DVRs, mobile devices (including iOS and Android) |
DVD and Blu-ray |
PC, Mac |
Computers, game consoles, streaming players, Blu-ray players, set top boxes, HDTV, DVRs, mobile devices (including iOS and Android) |
PC, Mac, connected TV |
PC, Mac, connected TV |
|
TITLES/EPISODES |
Over 20,000 episodes |
Over 100,000 episodes |
Over 1,720 TV titles and 1,470 movie titles |
15,000 hours of content, which includes 2,180 TV titles and 1,450 movie titles |
Over 9,000 movies and TV show episodes; will have about 8,000 episodes with CBS; will have about 1,000 more movie titles from Universal Pictures. (Doesn’t break it out by titles.) |
Over 100,000 movies and TV shows (Doesn’t break it out by titles.) |
Source: Based on company information, additional reporting.
Produced by: Amanda Natividad
Edited by: Staci D. Kramer
Published: July 22, 2011 // Updated: August 18, 2011







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