Amazon Instant Video service hits 100,000 TV shows & movies

Netflix may control the instant streaming market, but that isn’t stopping Amazon from putting up a fight. On the contrary, the competition seems to be spurring it on. Amazon announced on Thursday that 100,000 TV shows and movies can now be rented or purchased through its website. The company also broke some good news for its Prime subscribers.

Steve Oliver, director of video at Amazon, explained that library expansion is part of the company’s long-term plan to enhance its attractiveness to consumers – a sentiment shared by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

“We are focused on offering our customers the very best selection and are always working to expand our already extensive list of great video content,” said Oliver. “The 100,000 titles on Amazon Instant Video range from new hit blockbusters to old favorites, with more than 15,000 of those titles available in HD, and popular TV shows available the day after they first air.”

Demonstrating continued support to its paying clientele, Amazon also revealed that the amount of freely available media for Prime members now stands at 9,000.

Amazon added free instant streaming to its Prime package, which costs $79 per year, in February. At launch, only 5,000 movies and shows were available. The company has added around 10,000 selections to its non-subscription Instant Streaming service.

It should be interesting to see how Amazon’s instant streaming fares this fall after Netflix institutes a price hike that will charge current customers $15.98 per month for a DVD and streaming package, and a lesser $7.99 per month for unlimited streaming alone.