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Amazon (AMZN) Enhances Movie Archive With NBCUniversal Deal

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Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) recently announced a deal with NBCUniversal. The deal will bring an animated film, All I Want for Christmas Is You, to its streaming service. The terms of the deal have been kept confidential. This deal will expand the movie archive of the company’s video streaming site, Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Amazon Instant Video is a digital video streaming and download service that lets users rent, buy or subscribe to a range of video content.

On a year-to-date basis, the company has underperformed the industry. Shares of Amazon have gained 50.7% compared with the industry’s growth of 60.1%.

The Agreement

The deal will make Prime Instant Video the exclusive online subscription service to stream the new animated film based on Mariah Carey’s hit song, All I Want for Christmas Is You. The song was originally released in 1994 and became the most streamed holiday song on Amazon Music last year.

Executive produced by Carey and produced by Universal 1440 Entertainment, the movie features a new original song by the multiple Grammy Award winner as well as three of her classic holiday hits. The story revolves around a young girl who must look after her uncle’s mischievous dog in the run-up to Christmas.

The film will be available exclusively to Prime members in the United States and Canada. The film is also available for purchase or rent through Amazon Video. It can also be available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The addition of All I Want for Christmas Is You will further boost Amazon’s program line-up, making Prime Instant Video India more attractive to viewers.

NBCUniversal Deal to Drive Amazon Digital Media Sales

The world’s biggest online retailer is taking all necessary steps to expand its user base in different countries and thereby increase its sales. We believe that expanding the Prime Instant Video archive is one of Amazon’s key strategies. It has been striving to boost its digital media sales and attract new users.

The company is spending a considerable amount on licensing deals for movies and TV shows to attract more viewers. This deal is the latest effort by Amazon to strengthen its position against Netflix (NFLX), the leading online video subscription service in the United States. Moreover, it will help Amazon to expand its footprint in the growing streaming market at a faster rate.

Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Amazon currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) , SMART Global Holdings, Inc. (SGH - Free Report) and Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings per share growth rate for NVIDIA Corporation, SMART Global and Applied Materials is projected to be 11.2%, 15% and 16.9%, respectively.

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