Price of Amazon Prime Is Going Up Again & People Are Blaming 'Lord of the Rings'
Someone has to pay for that $1 billion "Lord of the Rings" prequel series. It ain't gonna be Jeff Bezos.
Bezos is the wealthiest person in the world right now, but don't go thinking the Amazon boss doesn't want more. The company just bumped up the price of Amazon Prime subscriptions -- again.
During a first-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Amazon announced that the price of the streaming service and two-day delivery package will go up 20 percent from $99 to $119 per year. The change is effective May 11, which is two weeks from now.
Amazon previously raised its annual subscription cost from $79 to $99 in 2014. In January, the monthly subscription rate went up from $10.99 to $12.99.
Amazon earnings more than double and the price of Prime goes up. pic.twitter.com/olvCeuRmXQ
— Andrew Reiner (@Andrew_Reiner) April 26, 2018
Amazon raising Prime price by $20. Multiply that by 100 million users and you get oh, an extra $2 billion in yearly revenue presumably without much increase in marginal cost. (Back of envelope; not everyone pays full price and some may cancel because of the price increase.) $AMZN
— Nate Becker (@natebecker) April 26, 2018
I love some Amazon Prime but this is the 2nd price increase in 4 years. It's gone up a total of $40. It was $79 in 2014, raised to $99 that year Now it will be $119. I use it a lot so I guess the free shipping is worth it & Amazon video but I won't pay much more than $119 a yr. https://t.co/zAeMgwKcU9
— Heather???????? (@Furrville2) April 26, 2018
I guess I'm cancelling my #Amazon Prime membership. I could understand a $5 or even $10 increase, but a 20% increase? No thanks. Most retailers have similar pricing and offer free shipping now anyways. Also #Netflix is way better.
— iconoclastwit (@iconoclastwit) April 27, 2018
Paying more is annoying, but they do provide a lot for that $10 a month including streaming video, 2-day shipping, Prime music, reading, etc. It's still really a great value when you figure I'm paying like $12 a month just for Hulu.
— phenatical (@SuperPhentastic) April 26, 2018
Some fans are jokingly -- or not -- connecting this rate increase to the "Lord of the Rings" prequel series in development at Amazon. They have to go into production on that within two years per the deal with the Tolkien estate. The plan is currently for five seasons, and a possible spinoff, with total expenses heading north of $1 billion.
It's shaping up to be the most expensive series of all time, and there's already a lot of buzz around it. So between needing more money to make the series, and figuring fans will be curious enough to pay to watch the series, you could fairly wonder if LOTR is indeed involved in this price hike.
Amazon Prime rises to $119 a year! Someone has to pay for The Lord of the Rings prequel series.
— John Hood (@johnhood) April 27, 2018
Amazon Raises Annual Prime Price 20% to $119.
They had to jack up the yearly price to deliver you the new Lord of the Rings series, duh!Amazon is both amazing & terrifying in terms of dominance. If Amazon kept increasing its perks and value adds, would you be ok with price?
— Justin Wu - Blockchain Growth (@hackapreneur) April 27, 2018
Before Amazon goes for its own "Game of Thrones" dominance with a "Lord of the Rings" series, it already has trademark series like "The Man in the High Castle" and the now ending "Mozart in the Jungle." There are also Amazon Studios movies like "Last Flag Flying" -- starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne -- coming to Amazon Prime on May 4. But is that enough?
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