Amazon to Launch On-Demand Video Streaming

Both Battleground and Lilyhammer get mixed reviews, as streaming services branch out

(NEWSER) - Online streaming sites Hulu and Netflix both launched original series this week, as both services take baby steps toward competing with regular television, reports Gigaom . A look at each:

• Hulu's Battleground is the more conventional of the two, a 13-episode comedy about a Senate campaign in Wisconsin that started today, with a new 22-minute episode airing each Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has solid praise for Battleground, saying it is "a smart, well-written comedy series you might find on a premium cable network." The AP is less kind, however, calling it "a light, watered-down knockoff of The Office," while the New York Daily News comes down somewhere in-between.

Instant Video selections streamed for free by Prime members

(NEWSER) - Another blow to Netflix ? Amazon.com announced today that it will increase the number of Instant Video selections that Amazon Prime members can stream for free. The new partnership with Viacom will add TV episodes from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, and more networks, bringing the total number of Prime Instant Videos to more than 15,000. In short, it means that Amazon Prime members will soon be able to watch past episodes of Jersey Shore for free. More»

New streaming venture announced, but few details given

(NEWSER) - Watch out, Netflix: Verizon and Redbox are teaming up. Verizon announced today it will enter the video streaming business in a joint venture with Coinstar, the parent company of Redbox DVD rental kiosks, Mashable reports. Verizon said the new service, which will also include access to DVD and Blu-ray discs, will be available across the nation later this year. Anyone in the US, even those who are not current Verizon subscribers, will be able to use the subscription service. More»

Revenues, subscribers, and share price all up at online video leader

(NEWSER) - After Netflix's miserable third quarter of 2011—which saw its share price plunge 75% , some 800,000 customers quit , and the Qwikster debacle —the video rental giant reversed much of those losses and posted stronger-than-expected results for the last quarter, reports Reuters . Netflix's revenue jumped 47% to $876 million, about $18 million more than expected, and it added 610,000 customers, helping its share price rebound 13% on the news. More»

Company says that's a 'high mark'

(NEWSER) - Despite the uproar and subscriber exodus over its pricing change, people are still making use of Netflix’s streaming service. And how. The company has announced that it streamed more than 2 billion hours of content to members during the fourth quarter, and while it wouldn’t give specific figures on how that measured up to past quarters, a spokesman tells the Wall Street Journal it’s "a high mark." The company claims about 20 million streaming members around the globe. More»