David Farnor | On 16, Jul 2018

It’s Monday 16th July, which means one thing if you’re a global retail giant named after a rainforest: it’s Amazon Prime Day.

Amazon’s annual shopping promotion is a self-proclaimed event that sees products across the online store slashed in price for one day only. This year, that window for discounts is being extended by 12 hours, so offers are available until midnight on Wednesday 17th July. While many of the products discounted are clearance items clogging up Amazon shelves, there are often some genuine gems to be found amid the horde – and, this year, Amazon is using its Amazon Channels platform to cater to the VOD crowd.

It’s been over a year since Amazon Channels launched in the UK, offering Prime members the chance to add on individual subscriptions to their Amazon account – standalone streaming bundles without contracts from providers who are usually tied into Pay-TV, such as Eurosport. In the UK, the idea carries less weight in than in the US, where cord-cutting is increasingly the norm – after all, British households are already served by free-to-air public service broadcasters, while Showtime and HBO (both on Amazon Channels in the USA) are locked down exclusively by Sky and NOW.

Amazon is offering three-month trials on three of its best standalone movie channels: BFI Player+, Shudder, MGM. Normally only available for free for one month, or less, Amazon Prime members have until 17th July to take advantage of getting 90 days for nothing.

How much is an Amazon Prime membership? That depends on what you need: an annual membership costs £79, including next-day delivery on all Amazon products, as well as perks such as Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Prime Music. You can also sign up on a monthly, contract-free basis for £7.99. Or, if you just want Prime Video, you can sign up for £5.99 a month, with 4K streaming included. (Students – don’t forget you can get additional discounts by signing up for a free six-month trial, and then getting 50% off a year of Amazon Prime.) New customers can also get a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime here.

Shudder UK

Normal price: £4.99/month

Expertly curated selection of thrillers, suspense, and horror from this AMC-owned horror subscription service. (Read our reviews of films avalable on Shudder UK here.)

Notable films: It Stains The Sands Red, Found Footage 3D, Sequence Break, Lake Bodom.

Click here to find out more

BFI Player+

Normal price: £4.99/month

Critically acclaimed and classic movies, hand-picked by the British Film Institute.

Notable films: Shoah, Paris Texas, Belle de Jour, The Seventh Seal, Godzilla (1954), Rashomon, Seven Samurai

Click here to find out more

MGM

Normal price: £4.49/month/strong>