Amazon's Deal Makes HBO Shows Free to Prime Subscribers - Businessweek

An ongoing battle of attrition in paying for access to premium content and, perhaps inevitably, pipes (see, e.g., F.C.C., in a Shift, Backs Fast Lanes for Web Traffic -- NYT)

"The race among Internet television services is measured largely by what you can watch on them. Before dropping its HBO bombshell, Amazon’s primary distinction was its increased focus on video games. But it has also been producing its own shows and grabbing further exclusives for Prime subscribers. Amazon is competing in two areas here: It wants people to buy Fire TVs, rather than Rokus, and for viewers to value Prime more than Netflix (NFLX). The HBO deal puts Amazon ahead of Internet TV companies that make devices, and it constitutes the company’s first big coup as it tries to distinguish itself from Netflix, which doesn’t offer any of HBO’s current content. Still, Amazon is still far behind Netflix on streaming selection, as this clever analysis by Lifehacker shows."

Amazon's Deal Makes HBO Shows Free to Prime Subscribers - Businessweek