X

Amazon Prime acquires access to Paramount films

When it comes to offering popular movies over the Internet, Amazon continues to close the gap with Netflix.

Greg Sandoval Former Staff writer
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at @sandoCNET.
Greg Sandoval
Greg Sandoval/CNET

Thanks to a new agreement with Paramount Pictures, subscribers of Amazon's Prime service will now get access to "hundreds" of films, including "Mission: Impossible 3," "Braveheart" and "Mean Girls."

Sure, these are catalog titles that are long in the tooth and many of them have been in Netflix's library for some time. But the point is that Amazon continues to close the gap in regards to the amount and quality of films offered by Netflix, the top video-rental service on the Web.

Amazon Prime is a membership program that costs $79 annually and offers customers free two-day shipping on their purchases. In addition, members get access to the expanding pool of movies in Prime Instant Video.

"We are continuing to invest in building a vast selection for Prime Instant Video," Brad Beale, director of digital video content acquisition for Amazon, said in a written statement.

Amazon still has a ways to go but the deal is just another indication that Netflix rivals continue to pressure the service at a time when the company struggles to land content.

Netflix shares were trading up 3 percent to $69.83 Wednesday morning. That's well off the stock's 52-week high of $304, which it hit last summer.