A year of what was LOVEFiLM, (now the catchier Amazon Prime Instant Video) for £49

Goodbye LOVEFiLM, hello Amazon Prime Instant Video!

Amazon have decided to rechristen 'LOVEFiLM Instant', the video-on-demand portion of the DVDs-by-post company they bought years ago, 'Amazon Prime Instant Video'. Not only that, but - as the name suggests - they've merged it with Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime, for the uninitiated, is/was a service that gave Amazon shoppers 'free' one day delivery for a year for an upfront cost.

That's all well and good, I hear you say, but what does it mean? In a nutshell, the facts about Amazon Prime Instant Video:

• Was LOVEFiLM Instant
• Now not LOVEFiLM Instant
• Cheaper than Netflix if you sign up today
• Not cheaper than Netflix if you sign up tomorrow
• Cheaper than a Sky Movies Pass on NOW TV - if you sign up today or even tomorrow
• Not cheaper than NOW TV's Entertainment Pass tomorrow, but is today
• Well and truly cheaper than having both Movies and Entertainment packs on NOW TV
• Staler films and TV show than those found on NOW TV, but a lot more plentiful
• Includes a bunch of Kindle books to borrow
• As well as 'free' one day delivery on 'millions' of real, tangible items available on Amazon

 

Here's the results of some (very basic) number-crunching I've done...

Netflix = £5.99 pm (£71.88 pa)
Sky Movies on NOW TV = £8.99 pm (£107.88 pa)
Entertainment NOW TV  = £4.99 pm (£59.88 pa)
Amazon Prime Instant (today) = £4.08 pm (£49.00 pa) 
Amazon Prime Instant (tomorrow) = £6.58 pm (£79.00 pa)

Whilst doing those sums I found out NOW TV are offering new bundles that make that service even cheaper - plus you get a new/extra set-top-box to boot. It's a bit too confusing to work into my above number-crunching, so I've left it out. See below instead...

5 months of Sky Movies on NOW TV would normally be £44.95 (£8.99 x 5). However, if you choose the bundle option on NOW TV's site you'll only pay £34.99. And, like I said, that includes their NOW TV box (which usually retails at £9.99). Not only that, the dinky box also provides access to the catch-up services BBC iPlayer, 4OD and Demand 5.

Remember, if you don't watch (or record) any television as it is broadcast, you don't need a TV licence! That's £145.50 you could be spending on some quality on-demand viewing instead. Don't forget a licence ISN'T even required if you watch the likes of iPlayer. So, you can still watch the majority of the UK's most popular TV shows without one - legally!