Amazon is introducing a new Prime Video interface for streaming devices, smart TVs and Android devices that features text-based tabs at the top for icon-based navigation on the side, along with a dedicated sports tab on the home page for live and pre-recorded content in the category. The new redesign also includes a larger carousel for Amazon Originals with maturity ratings and top 10 charts for titles in the region.
The updated home screen now has a new side navigation menu with icons for Search, Home, Shop to buy or rent titles or subscribe to channels, Live TV to see content from your subscribed channels, Free with ads for Amazon’s FreeVee service and My Stuff for watchlists and purchases.
Image Credits: Amazon
The changes to Prime Video’s navigation menu are similar to the new Fire TV interface — which adopted icons instead of text for tabs — that Amazon rolled out last month. The Amazon Prime Video redesign is rolling out to customers worldwide this week using the app on TV streaming devices including Fire TV and the Android app with iOS and web interface updates to follow.
“We are redesigning the Prime Video experience to emphasize our wide selection of content and to make it easier for customers to find the content they love,” the company said in a pre-written statement.
Amazon is now adding four new sub-navigation options under a new larger banner carousel on the home screen called Everything, Movies, TV Shows, and Sports to easily find content in those categories. It’s surprising that Amazon has waited so long to have those basic navigation tabs on the big screen. Before this update, it was very difficult to just browse movies or TV shows. The homepage also shows larger carousels with trailers for Prime Originals, a top 10 map for the region and a carousel to easily find your current subscriptions.
Image Credits: Amazon
The new search menu now shows title suggestions as you type, and you can also filter suggestions by categories, genres, or titles available in 4K. These search filters were already available on the web and in mobile apps, but are now being rolled out to the big screen.
The Sports tab is a brand new addition to Prime Video that allows you to find live sports, replays and highlights of recently concluded matches and documentaries. There is also a carousel to navigate to different leagues in your area. While Amazon has a sizable catalog of sports documentaries — including its own All or Nothing series — there was no easy filter or button to find the related content. You had to manually search for these titles or pray that one of them popped up in suggestions.
Amazon has also revamped the Live TV tab design with a standard available channel guide interface so you can switch to the content your subscribed channels are now showing. Currently, the live TV interface is not ubiquitous on all platforms and it takes a few steps to find the program you want to watch. In addition, the Live TV screen shows upcoming live sports from your Amazon Prime and channels subscription.
Image Credits: Amazon
The company stressed that with this update it is clearly marking paid and free titles. It denotes titles that are included in the Prime membership with a blue check mark and titles that you have to pay for with a gold shopping bag.
While Amazon Prime’s new design update is primarily visual, a dedicated sports tab shows the company getting more serious in this category. The acquired company the exclusive streaming rights to show “NFL Thursday Night Football” games last year and will start showing these matches this year. The e-commerce giant is seeking rights to show UEFA Champions League football in both The United States. and the UK. It also aimed to acquire five years of streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket competition last month, but withdrew just days before bidding began.
Amazon said the interface refresh is aimed at larger screens as it represents the majority of its viewers using that streaming mode. However, it didn’t detail how many percentages of users are viewing content on a big screen versus a small screen worldwide.
The company’s approach isn’t surprising, as people spend more time streaming content on a big screen, such as a connected TV, a smart TV, or a game console. A report published in May by Conviva, a streaming data analytics company, for the first quarter of 2022 suggested that large screens represented 77% of minutes streamed worldwide for that period.
“In mature markets like the US and Europe, viewers are upscreening from small devices to smart TVs, laying the groundwork for streaming to overtake linear TV on the big screen,” said Keith Zubchevich, president and CEO of Conviva. in the report.
