As anticipated, Amazon joins streaming TV crowd

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) has joined the increasingly crowded streaming media scene. The world's largest online retailer, which already offered customers the ability to buy or rent videos from among 90,000 or so selections, has now made about 5,000 movies and TV shows available for instant streaming for members of the $79-a-year Amazon Prime plan.

"Adding unlimited instant access to thousands of movies and TV shows at no additional cost is a great way to give members even more value for their $79 annual Amazon Prime membership," Robbie Schwietzer, vice president of Amazon Prime said in a news release.

The movies and TV shows can be watched on Macs, PCs and "nearly 200 models of Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes that are compatible with Amazon Instant Video," the online retailer said without even hinting that those devices, of course, can also be bought on its site.

For more:
- see this news release

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