Amazon.com starts video download service

updated 6:19 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2006

SEATTLE - Amazon.com launched a video download service Thursday, ending months of speculation that the Internet retailer would be getting into the online TV and movie business.

The service, dubbed Amazon Unbox, will offer thousands of television shows, movies and other videos from more than 30 studios and networks, the company said in a statement.

TV shows will cost $1.99 per episode, and most movies will go for $7.99 to $14.99; movies can also be rented for $3.99.

Amazon Unbox will offer shows from CBS, Fox, MTV, Nickelodeon, PBS, BBC, A&E, Discovery Channel, Comedy Central and The History Channel, among others. NBC and ABC were noticeably absent on the list of participating networks.

Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros., Lionsgate and MGM are among the major movie studios that have signed with Amazon.com Inc.

Walt Disney Pictures, whose biggest shareholder is Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, has not signed on. Amazon's service comes just days ahead of the expected launch of a movie download service at Apple's iTunes Music Store.

Hollywood studios already sell films through other online services, such as Movielink, CinemaNow and Guba, but they haven't yet attracted a huge following.

Details of the scope of Apple's expected offerings are unclear, but its pioneering success and market dominance with its iTunes music and TV show downloads as well as its iPod media players have already cast Apple as a leading competitor.

The Amazon catalog of TV shows includes some of the same shows already available on iTunes and Google Inc.'s online video store, including CBS's "CSI" and Fox's "24."

Movies will include new releases like "V for Vendetta," "Inside Man," "Brokeback Mountain," "Walk the Line," and "Friends with Money," as well as classics such as "Ben Hur," "Chinatown," and "Poseidon Adventure."

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