Overstock.com Wants To Compete With Amazon, Launching Streaming Video-On-Demand Service

Overstock.com wants to be a major player in the world of digital content subscriptions. Overstock’s CEO Patrick Byrne announced on January 20, 2015 at the NATPE conference in Miami that the online retailer will launch its own digital content storefront and streaming subscription service.

Byrne explained how the digital content industry “wants to see a competitor to Amazon… a second, pure play with mass distribution.” As such, Overstock will debut roughly 30,000 titles in its audio/video-on-demand service. This digital storefront would be similar in style to Amazon Instant Video and will allow consumers to rent or buy digital titles.

These AVOD initiatives will be tied into the site’s Club O loyalty program, but the details as to how exactly this will work and if the service will be an additional cost on top of the annual membership to the loyalty program are unclear. However, Byrne said in a release a “digital media streaming service is a natural next step” as the site’s traffic and Club O memberships continue to grow. “Introducing this service allows us to engage with our customers on a deeper level and show our appreciation to Club O members for being loyal to us over the years,” he added.

Overstock wanted to launch its own streaming subscription service to better serve and leverage the retailer’s massive online reach. According to Byrne, Overstock is the second largest ecommerce retailer next to Amazon, and its stats prove it it. The CEO said his site “already has the traffic” in place to support a streaming service. Overstock sees about 30 million unique hits a month. In December alone, the site received roughly 40 million unique visitors.

Overstock’s CEO said the site partnering with an undisclosed third party for streaming rights for most of this digital content. The ecommerce retailer will also leverage the strong marketing relationships with major Hollywood studios it already boasts due to the site’s inventory of DVDs and film-related merchandise. Byrne noted, too, how Overstock would eventually like to delve into original content for release on its streaming service (much like Amazon Studios).

Overstock’s digital storefront and subscription service is set to arrive sometime in mid-2015. If you’d like to be in on the action (or you just want to see Overstock compete with Amazon), you can sign up to Overstock’s Club O loyalty program for just $19.99 a year.