HOLIDAY SHOPPING DRIVES UP AMAZON PRIME STREAMING SERVICE

Many holiday shoppers apparently realized that if they signed up for the Amazon Prime movie service for $79 a year, they not only could watch a virtually unlimited number of movies but also get free two-day shipping for many of their holiday gifts. That could explain why Amazon reported a record number of enrollments for the membership program during the third week of December. While Amazon does not disclose the actual number of subscribers to the program, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimated that as many as 20 million people have signed up for it. Home Media magazine quoted Pachter as telling investors: “Prime membership was so popular this holiday that the company limited new sign-ups during peak periods to ensure that the surge in new membership did not impact current members’ service.”