Bloomberg.com reports that Amazon.com has approached several media companies in hopes to launch an online video subscription service in order to compete with online rental service, Netflix.

The service would consist of older films and television shows and would be made available for a monthly fee. Reportedly, Amazon has approached Time Warner, Viacom Inc. owner of MTV, and General Electric, which is the parent company of NBC Universal.

The goal of the new service would be to combat Amazon's rivals - Netflix, Hulu, and Apple. Amazon plans to structure the deals with the media companies similarly to Netflix, which pays for the right to stream media over the Internet. Amazon would want to make the service available through web browsers and Internet-connected television sets, Blu-ray players, and the Xbox 360 console.

This subscription based service would be a departure from Amazon's current video-on-demand service which has failed to successfully compete with rental service giant Netflix. This current service rents and sells movies and television shows through Amazon.com, and through Roku, TiVo, and Sony devices.

While Amazon has an established brand name and user base that could compete in the online streaming world, this service may be too limited and too late to gain any real traction.

Related Reviews and Content
To learn more about rental services please read our article, An Insiders Guide To DVD/Blu-ray Rental Services Like Netflix, Blockbuster & Redbox by Andrew Robinson. Also read our TiVo HD DVR review by Adrienne Maxwell to learn more about one of the products that runs Amazon's current video-on-demand service.