(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon.com, Inc. today announced a content licensing
agreement with Cinedigm that will make Prime Instant Video the exclusive
subscription streaming home for a collection of groundbreaking
independent movies from Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Exclusive titles available today for unlimited
streaming by Prime members in the U.S. include Cheap
Thrills, a blackly comic thriller starring David
Koechner and Ethan
Embry, Ben Wheatley’s psychedelic sorcery film A
Field in England, sci-fi cult classic The
Visitor, and Abel Ferrara’s legendary Ms.
45.
Additional films from the boutique label’s curated theatrical slate to
be added exclusively to Prime Instant Video in the coming months include:
Two additional titles, highly acclaimed rock-doc A
Band Called Death and award-winning coming-of-age film I
Declare War, are also available today. Those who are not already
members of Amazon Prime can sign up at www.amazon.com/primeinstantvideo.
This roster of new movies boasts numerous award winners. Cheap Thrills
won the SXSW Midnight Audience Award for black comedy thriller; The
Congress was named a triple award winner at Fantastic Fest for Best
Actress, Director and Writer; and 20,000 Days on Earth won awards
for both directing and editing at Sundance 2014.
“We know our customers love great independent films and we are excited
to add these engaging indies from Drafthouse Films exclusively to Prime
Instant Video,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content
Acquisition for Amazon. “These film festival favorites and award winners
are both provocative and entertaining, and we know Prime members will
enjoy watching them.”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled that Cinedigm secured this deal with
Amazon for our titles,” noted Drafthouse Films COO James Emanuel Shapiro.
“We are always seeking new ways to share the films we love with the
widest audience possible, and working with Prime Instant Video is
helping us accomplish that mission,” said Yolanda Macias, EVP Digital
Sales for Cinedigm.
Prime Instant Video Exclusives
Prime Instant Video is the exclusive online-only subscription home for a
large and constantly-expanding selection of hit series, making it the
go-to destination for Prime members who want to stay up to date on their
favorite shows. Popular choices include HBO classics The Sopranos,
The Wire, Deadwood, Rome and Six Feet Under,
recent HBO favorites Eastbound & Down, Enlightened and Flight
of the Conchords, and select seasons of current HBO series True
Blood, Boardwalk Empire and Treme. Other hit TV show
exclusives include PBS series Downton Abbey and Mr. Selfridge,
FX dramas The Americans and Justified, as well as 24,
Orphan Black, Falling Skies, Hannibal, Grimm,
Workaholics, Suits, Covert Affairs, Teen Wolf,
Veronica Mars, CBS summer blockbuster series Under the Dome
and later this summer, Extant. Prime Instant Video also offers an
exclusive collection of kids shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. that
customers won’t find on any other online-only subscription service,
including favorites like SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the
Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Blue’s Clues, and The
Bubble Guppies. Airing now, Amazon’s first original series Alpha
House and Betas and first original kids series Tumble Leaf
can be found exclusively on Prime Instant Video as well.
Customers can enjoy Prime Instant Videos on hundreds of compatible
Amazon Instant Video devices, including Amazon Fire TV, Fire phone,
Kindle Fire HDX, Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox,
PlayStation and the Wii. Prime Instant Video is the only U.S. online
subscription streaming service that enables offline viewing—on a plane,
on vacation, and anywhere else where you may not have Wi-Fi. Customers
can download tens of thousands of Prime Instant Video titles to their
new Kindle Fire HD or Kindle Fire HDX.
About Amazon Instant Video
Amazon Instant Video is a digital video streaming and download service
that offers Amazon customers the ability to rent, purchase or subscribe
to a huge catalog of videos. Customers can choose from more than 200,000
titles to purchase or rent—movies range from new releases to classic
favorites, and Amazon Instant Video offers major television shows,
entire seasons, or even day after air TV. Prime Instant Video is
Amazon’s video subscription offer—it includes tens of thousands of
movies and TV episodes selected from the full assortment available at
Amazon Instant Video.
About Amazon.com
Amazon opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided
by three principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus,
passion for invention, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click
shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon,
AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and
Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
Copyright Business Wire 2014