[youknowitbetter]

Amazon is going in reverse direction! They have started putting up all the popular titles in the rent category. Movies such as 'Harry Potter' which for years have been available can now only be accessed by paying 'rent'!

[deathwalkr]

In my opinion they should just increase the subscription plan rate and avoid this rental tamasha. Gets a bit irritating.

[IamNikhil]

The classic way for these OTT platforms to make a fool out of subscribers: put more and more titles on "RENT". First they will take a subscription fee and then have the gall to fleece subscribers with these rentals. Absolute scam.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by youknowitbetter

Amazon is going in reverse direction! They have started putting up all the popular titles in the rent category. Movies such as 'Harry Potter' which for years have been available can now only be accessed by paying 'rent'!

I hardly watch prime now. The only reason to have prime membership now is for fast shipping for products bought on Amazon. Perhaps that's their aim too - if so, then let them have 2 seperate packages - on for prime video and another for other benefits like fast shipping etc.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by youknowitbetter

Amazon is going in reverse direction! They have started putting up all the popular titles in the rent category. Movies such as 'Harry Potter' which for years have been available can now only be accessed by paying 'rent'!

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

In my opinion they should just increase the subscription plan rate and avoid this rental tamasha. Gets a bit irritating.

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

The classic way for these OTT platforms to make a fool out of subscribers: put more and more titles on "RENT". First they will take a subscription fee and then have the gall to fleece subscribers with these rentals. Absolute scam.

I agree. Amazon is getting very irritating nowadays with all the popular titles going on rent. The excitement of the seeing the title is gone once you see that it is on rent. Add to it the number of adds shown nowadays. They should just increase the subscription and remove all these pain points.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

I hardly watch prime now. ...

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

I agree. Amazon is getting very irritating nowadays with all the popular titles going on rent. ...

I used to take Netflix subscription once in a while, but since the last 6 months, I've had it on a continuous - recurring basis and its well worth the higher cost in terms of quality content.

Have watched nothing on Amazon Prime Video since the last several months.
The Amazon Prime video content is extremely mediocre and except for using Prime for free shipping and Amazon music occasionally, its absolutely bogus.
Big time Amazon needs to ramp up or restore the content of Amazon Prime video to its previous levels at least.

[2500cc]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

Have watched nothing on Amazon Prime Video since the last several months.
The Amazon Prime video content is extremely mediocre and except for using Prime for free shipping and Amazon music occasionally, its absolutely bogus.
Big time Amazon needs to ramp up or restore the content of Amazon Prime video to its previous levels at least.

Agree, prime has gone greedy and removed/rented out most of the interesting shows which were free for prime subscriptions in the past. Now, all that there is, are some mindless documentaries , silly movies and TV shows.

Netflix and Hotstar still have some good shows and the good thing with Netflix is few shows that went missing from prime are available here.

Jio Cinema, although has great collection in the recent times, the player UI and content censoring takes out the fun out of watching.

[beez]

Originally Posted by youknowitbetter

Amazon is going in reverse direction! They have started putting up all the popular titles in the rent category. Movies such as 'Harry Potter' which for years have been available can now only be accessed by paying 'rent'!

Not sure if this is a deliberate strategy. What I observed is some movies are available for a period of time in one OTT platform and then it is moved to another. Probably that is how the studios licence their content. Obviously, titles such as Harry Potter will be more in demand. I guess (only a guess) once it is moved out from Prime, they offer it on rent by having a separate deal.

Harry Potter is currently available on JioCinema. I have also seen this with James Bond and Mission impossible series. Both were moved out from Prime earlier but are back now: James Bond movies may go again as I see some titles listed under "Watch before they're gone" playlist.

Again this is purely my assumption!

[Comrade]

Source: https://m.timesofindia.com/business/.../106705551.cms

Amazon To Lay Off Employees In Prime Video, Studios Divisions

Amazon.com announced plans on Wednesday to lay off several hundred employees from its Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios divisions. Mike Hopkins, the Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, addressed the decision in a note to employees, saying that the company aims to shift its focus and resources toward content and product initiatives with greater impact.

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

I hardly watch prime now. The only reason to have prime membership now is for fast shipping for products bought on Amazon. Perhaps that's their aim too - if so, then let them have 2 seperate packages - on for prime video and another for other benefits like fast shipping etc.

Unfortunately, even the fast shipping feature has turned largely useless. Except for a few products, most of them are delivered with an average delivery period of 2-3 days, as opposed to single day delivery which was offered in the initial stages!

Originally Posted by for_cars1

I used to take Netflix subscription once in a while, but since the last 6 months, I've had it on a continuous - recurring basis and its well worth the higher cost in terms of quality content.

Have watched nothing on Amazon Prime Video since the last several months.
The Amazon Prime video content is extremely mediocre and except for using Prime for free shipping and Amazon music occasionally, its absolutely bogus.
Big time Amazon needs to ramp up or restore the content of Amazon Prime video to its previous levels at least.

Same pinch. After being on and off Netflix over the years, I have now become a regular subscriber since the past few months. The content library is humongous and the pace at which they are adding content clearly points to a cohesive vision going forward. An ecletic combination of good content across genres makes it a real value-for-money in the current scenario.

Prime Video, in comparison, is clearly languishing after a promising start.

Originally Posted by 2500cc

Agree, prime has gone greedy and removed/rented out most of the interesting shows which were free for prime subscriptions in the past. Now, all that there is, are some mindless documentaries , silly movies and TV shows.

Netflix and Hotstar still have some good shows and the good thing with Netflix is few shows that went missing from prime are available here.

Jio Cinema, although has great collection in the recent times, the player UI and content censoring takes out the fun out of watching.

I think even content creators are realising that Netflix is the only platform with a global reach and hence a lot of the content is being licensed temporarily to other OTTs but then resting on Netflix ultimately.

JioCinema will require a gestation period to settle down; with the news of an impending merger with Hotstar, let's hope that the long-awaited rebranding and interface-rehauling happens soon. This can be a true powerhouse in the days to come if they maintain a coherent strategy moving ahead.

[ghodlur]

I have Amazon Prime video membership and view it through the Tata Sky Android box. Have been facing the issue of video viewing getting stalled or reset on more than one occasion. Also fast forwarding the video is a painful exercise as it take a longer time as compared to viewing the Netflix videos through the same Android box. Have raised it with Amazon team on a number of occasions and every time they say it may be due to version issue which is later turns out t be not the case. Amazon has not been able to resolve the issue till dat. I had a Firestick earlier provided by tata sky as a promotional offer and had never faced the above issue.

Anybody faced this issue? Any solution to this?