Amazon Inc. and Epix announced a multiyear licensing agreement in the United States, ramping up the online retailer's Prime Instant Video movie library as Amazon is expected to launch a new version of its Kindle tablet this week.
The deal, announced on Tuesday, will mean that Prime Instant Video subscribers can have access to movies from Epix studio partners — Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp .
The agreement comes as Epix 2010 deal with Netflix, which pays $200 million a year for the rights to stream movies to its U.S. customers expires in September.
Netflix shares are down 10 percent at $53.70 in morning trading.
The agreement doubles the number of titles available to more than 25,000 movies. Prime Instant Video allows members access to movies and television episodes via instant streaming.
© 2013 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.