Amazon.com, Inc. is beefing up it efforts in the online video streaming market by announcing that customers will be able to subscribe to the video section of its Prime package on a standalone monthly basis.

According to The Wall Street Journal, those with no interest in Prime, which offers free 2-day delivery and a range of other features in addition to streaming video, will be able to pay $8.99 per month for access to Prime Video only whereas previously they had to purchase an annual Prime subscription for $99.

Those interested in keeping the full Prime bundle are also receiving the new option of being able to pay for the service monthly as well, with a new $10.99 per month option.

Standalone

The decision by Amazon to offer Prime Video as a standalone service is a sign of the growing popularity of content on a service that was otherwise somewhat limited in its growth prospects, given that it was offered as an additional service to the core Prime program and was only payable yearly.

Amazon has spent millions on developing its own content, including the critically acclaimed Transparent, and other shows including Mozart in the Jungle and The Man in High Castle, and has also gained exclusive screening rights for older HBO shows and premium TV network Epix.

Those deals notably include a catalog of not only television shows but movies as well that are not available on rival services such as Netflix, Inc. and Hulu, Inc.

Netflix can’t be mentioned enough in this case, as Amazon’s move to offer a standalone video streaming service is squarely aimed at it.

“Amazon is in this to win this,” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told The Hollywood Reporter. “Before, video was an afterthought to free shipping. Now, it’s top of mind. In order for this to success, they’re going to have to market it and spend a lot of money on new content.”

Of particular interest, Patcher also believes that the timing of the announcement wasn’t accidental either, as it comes just before Netflix increases its membership fees to $9.99 per month.

“It was inevitable that Amazon was going to promote that Prime was cheaper, but an annual membership fee versus a monthly membership is not quite a perfect comparison,” Pachter added. “Netflix opened the door with price increases.”

The new standalone service is available now, with existing Prime customers being able to choose whether they wish to switch to monthly payments, or the video only plan, once their subscriptions fall due.

Image credit: Amazon Prime Video.