Amazon close to Viacom deal for online video offer - report

Amazon.com will announce as soon as this week its plans to launch a subscription streaming service to rival Netflix, Reuters reports. Two people familiar with the discussions said the online retailer is close to finalising a deal with Viacom for video content for the service. Viacom, which owns TV shows and movies from MTV Networks, Nickelodeon and Paramount Studios, would be the latest of several partners Amazon has made deals with for its Prime Instant Video service. So far, major studios such as CBS, Warner Bros, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Walt Disney Co have licensed programming to the retailer. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman told Wall Street analysts last week the company would be announcing a new online video deal this week, but did not name the partner. To date, Amazon's Prime Instant Video has primarily been an add-on feature for Amazon Prime members, who pay USD 79 a year for free shipping in the US for most of what they buy. However, Amazon wants to open up the service to non-Prime members and expects the expanded video service to help drive sales of its Kindle Fire tablet. The Android-based Fire already comes with one free month of the Prime service. In addition to Prime Instant, the company also offers video downloads and rentals through the Amazon Instant Video service. The retailer said last month the number of videos purchased or rented from Amazon Instant Video, as well as the number of customers, more than doubled in the fourth quarter from the year before. It also said the number of Prime Instant Video streams rose nearly 300 percent during the quarter.