The evolution of television reached another milestone this week when US tech giant Amazon (US: AMZN) announced the European launch of its live television service, Amazon Channels. From 30 May, Amazon Prime members in the UK, Germany and Austria will be able to pay an extra monthly subscription fee to gain access to a mix of live and on-demand video services including Discovery, EuroSport and ITV (ITV).
This adds further heat to the competition facing Sky (SKY) and BT (BT.A). During the past few years, these pay-TV stalwarts have been under pressure to boost their premium content in order to compete with the cheaper, on-demand viewing services offered by Prime and Netflix (US:NFLX).
However, Tom Harrington, of media and telecoms analytics group Enders, denies that Amazon's latest move into the TV space will put immediate pressure on the traditional networks. "The top-end content isn't there," he said, referring to the fact that Amazon Channels will only be offering networks that can be viewed elsewhere. This makes it unlikely that Sky and BT subscribers - who generally sign up for the original shows and exclusive sport - will cut their ties with the traditional platforms immediately.
However, Amazon Channels' European launch is another stride towards the US television market, where so-called 'cord cutters' - customers who opt to get their television exclusively from streaming services rather than cable subscriptions - have plagued the traditional providers. That said, in the US Amazon Channels hosts premium content from networks HBO and Showtime, both of which have exclusive deals with Sky in the UK.
