Live blog: Amazon’s video event in New York
Amazon is expected to unveil its TV streaming box at an event in New York Tuesday. We’ll be live blogging here starting at 8am PT.
Amazon adds Veronica Mars and G.I. Joe to its lineup of fan fiction properties
Amazon’s Kindle (s AMZN) Worlds program, which secures licenses that allow self-published authors to legally sell Kindle fan fiction based on properties like Gossip Girl and Kurt Vonnegut’s books, added a few more brands to its lineup Wednesday. Among them: Hasbro’s G.I. Joe and Warner Brothers (s WB) shows Veronica Mars and Ravenswood. Cult favorite Veronica Mars is a particularly interesting case because Amazon Prime Instant Video is the exclusive streaming home of that show, and its creator Rob Thomas recently raised over $5 million on Kickstarter to fund a Veronica Mars movie.
Amazon added “millions” of Prime members in Q3, thanks in part to streaming video
Amazon Prime is growing very fast, thanks in part to streaming video, Amazon said in its Q3 earnings Thursday.
Amazon Prime Instant Video gets Fargo, Annie Hall and History Channel’s Vikings in MGM deal
Amazon (s AMZN) and MGM announced a deal Tuesday to make more MGM movies, as well as the History Channel hit Vikings, available for streaming on Prime Instant Video. Previously, Vikings had been available exclusively through Amazon’s European streaming service Lovefilm. It’s not available for streaming on Netflix (s NFLX). Movies included in the deal: Fargo, Platoon and Hoosiers (can also all be streamed on Netflix); Annie Hall and Hotel Rwanda (not available for streaming on Netflix).
Amazon Prime Instant Video gets exclusive on FX’s Justified
Amazon is adding FX’s Justified to Prime Instant Video. It’s the first time Justified has been available on a streaming site, and it won’t be on Netflix or Hulu Plus.
Amazon gets more CBS and Showtime shows for Prime Instant Video
Users of Amazon Prime Instant Video will be able to stream more shows from CBS (s CBS) and Showtime, including past seasons of America’s Next Top Model, Everybody Loves Raymond and The L Word.
Amazon Studios announces kids’ pilots from Jim Henson Company, Blue’s Clues creator
Amazon Studios has chosen its first five pilots for children’s shows, including offerings from the creators of Blue’s Clues and Rugrats. User feedback will help determine whether the shows go into production.
Christmas Eve AWS outage stings Netflix but not Amazon Prime
Big problems with Amazon Web Services’ Elastic Load Balancing service in its US-East data center nailed Netflix and Heroku on Christmas Eve and carried over into Christmas. Netflix competitor Amazon Prime Instant Video appeared to be unaffected.
Amazon Studios taps the Onion, Daily Show writers, others for comedy pilots
Amazon Studios, Amazon’s film production division, will produce pilots for six original comedy series, the company announced Thursday — including shows from the Onion and “Doonesbury” writer Garry Trudeau.
What to expect at next week’s Kindle event: A rumor roundup
What should we expect from next week’s Amazon press conference in Los Angeles? The rumor mill suggest a front-lit Kindle e-reader, a new Kindle Fire with a camera and location technology, and more streaming movie offerings for Prime members.