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Amazon to Stream President Obama’s Last State of the Union Address

By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
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By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 11, 2016, 11:48 AM ET
Amazon's Prime logo is displayed on computer screens.
Amazon's Prime logo is displayed on computer screens.Photograph by Daniel Acker—Bloomberg via Getty Images

Fresh off a number of Golden Globe wins for its originally produced content, Amazon announced that it would be streaming President Barack Obama’s final state of the union address on Tuesday. For the first time, the presidential address will be available to watch on Amazon’s (AMZN) streaming video site, Amazon Video.

The live video will also be available on the White House’s website and on its YouTube channel.

The White House chief digital officer Jason Goldman addressed the growing evolution of how people are watching TV and video in a blog post Sunday, “For those who’ve cut the cord from cable and network TV: Whether you use a smart TV, web browser, mobile device, or tablet there’s a way for you to watch the President’s speech as it happens and on-demand.”

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The White House’s choice to include Amazon this year reflects the company’s relatively new dominance in streaming video. As part of the company’s subscription service, Amazon Prime, users can access streamed movies, TV shows and Amazon’s original content, in addition to free two-day shipping on purchases from the marketplace. The White House’s decision also reflects the growing trend of cord cutting, in which more consumers are ditching paying for cable TV service in favor of watching content via Amazon and Netflix (NFLX).

According to a Nielsen report from 2015, 13% of all U.S. television households use Prime Instant Video. Amazon is betting big that video will be one of the next areas of growth for the company, spending billions on licensing content for the service as well as producing original shows.

WATCH:For more on Amazon’s streaming video strategy, watch this Fortune video:

But Amazon is also going head to head with streaming rival Netflix, which is also investing heavily in original content and licensing deals. In 2014, Amazon’s streaming video service received a grand total of zero Emmy nominations, compared with 31 for Netflix. But Amazon’s shows are starting to attract the attention of Hollywood. In 2015, the company took home five Emmy statues, compared to four for Netflix.

MORE:Amazon Sets New Holiday Records

Last night’s Golden Globes also brought more accolades for Amazon. The technology company took home two awards for its content, whereas none of Netflix’s nominated shows won. In 2015, Netflix took home seven Golden Globe awards.

About the Author
By Leena Rao
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