Report: Amazon Prime has one-third of Netflix's content

Amazon has its eye on Netflix's vaunted No. 1 instant streamer spot, but the up-and-comer won't top the veteran any time soon. A new content comparison has measured both company's offerings, finding the cyber retailer's digital video roster wanting.

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Amazon entered the instant streaming market in February, offering paying Prime members over 5,000 shows and movies for no additional cost. Since then, that number has tripled. But Tech of the Hub revealed the service still turned up well short of Netflix's massive selection of TV shows and movies.

According to the site, Netflix's current streaming selection contains 9,828 movies and 39,313 TV episodes. Amazon Prime instant video offers considerably fewer of both, with just 2,304 movies and 12,949 TV episodes. Amazon holds some small advantages, however.

Amazon has about 1,000 movies that are not available on Netflix. For TV shows, it's about 300 TV seasons worth. Obviously, the number of titles on Netflix and not on Amazon are huge in comparison. To deal with holes in their catalogs, Amazon offers a-la-carte purchase of most TV shows and movies whereas Netflix offers their DVD by mail plan.

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Amazon Prime instant streaming also costs slightly less than Netflix. A year-long membership, which originally featured free shipping for physical products purchased through the company's retail channel, runs $79/year. Netflix's monthly streaming fee is $7.99/month, or $95.88/year.

This summer, research firm IHS called Amazon's entry into the instant streaming market a "faltering start." In October, the company touted a new deal with PBS for select television programming.

Netflix released a new iPad app and announced Android 4.0 support this week. (via Hacking Netflix)

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