Amazon unveils streaming video deal with Viacom

Amazon announced a license agreement deal with global media company Viacom on Wednesday, bracing up further to compete in the booming streaming video market.According to the company's press release, the deal with Viacom will allow Amazon Prime members to instantly stream TV shows from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, CMT and Logo, increasing the total number of Amazon Prime Instant Videos to more than 15,000. The streaming will be unlimited and commercial-free.Since Amazon launched Prime Instant Videos last February, the company has signed license agreements with CBS, Fox Broadcasting, PBS, NBC Universal, Sony, Warner Bros, Disney-ABC Television and others.Amazon Prime subscribers pay 79.99 U.S. dollars a year for access to the shows and two-day shipping for their orders on Amazon.com.Competitions in the video streaming market has been increasingly fierce since last year, among the services like Netflix, Apple's iTunes, Amazon's Prime Video, Hulu Plus and Vudu which is owned by Wal-Mart.Meanwhile, the companies are also rolling out their original series to attract more subscribers. On Monday, Netflix, the market leader in streaming video, debuted its first scripted series called Lilyhammer starring The Sopranos actor Steven Van Zandt.