Amazon Prime hikes US price by 18% as it ups content spend

Amazon announced Friday that it will increase the price for Prime memberships in the US by 18%, as the company eyes programming with wider reach and an increase in content spend.

Amazon auto show, The Grand Tour

As first reported by Recode, Amazon will increase the price for US Prime members from US$10.99 to US$12.99. Its annual membership of US$99 will remain unchanged.

It has not been stated whether prices in other territories will go up, or how much they would go up by.

Amazon said in a statement: “Prime provides an unparalleled combination of shipping, shopping and entertainment benefits, and we continue to invest in making Prime even more valuable for our members.”

The cost of a Prime Video membership in the US, which doesn’t include shipping benefits, will remain at US$8.99.

The news arrives after Amazon has pledged to up its video investment in 2018. The company has also been eyeing productions that will match the global appeal of HBO’s Game of Thrones, which was demonstrated by its recent purchase of TV rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

The company has made a recent move away from half-hour comedies, including titles such as One Mississippi, as it looks to achieve its new goal.

Netflix was another SVOD service to recently up its prices. In October, it hiked its US prices up from $9.99 to $10.99 claiming that it’s due to its large investment in originals.