While reporting first quarter 2013 earnings that included a 37% decline in net income, Amazon highlighted its video and content efforts, which boosted North American media sales by 14% to $2,513 million from a year earlier.
Overall global media sales, which Amazon defines as books, music, movies, video games, game consoles, software and digital downloads-- saw a healthy 7% growth to over $5 billion in the first quarter of 2013.
The increase was however smaller than the 22% spike in net sales during the quarter.
During the earnings call, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos repeatedly highlighted their video and content efforts, noting that the free content available in Amazon Prime was helping to drive sales of media and other products.
Bezos also argued that the expanding video offering and its new originals were reducing churn in Amazon Prime and increasing overall consumer satisfaction. He declined, however, to talk about any upcoming new Kindle products, including recent Bloomberg report that Amazon was developing a streaming media player that would stream video to TVs for release later this year.
Overall, the company reported that net sales increased 22% to $16.07 billion in the first quarter; operating cash flow increased 39% to $4.25 billion; operating income decreased 6% to $181 million; and net income decreased 37% to $82 million or 18 cents a share in the first quarter.
Analysts had expected a profit of 8 cents a share, the Wall Streel Journal reported. But the stock was down about 2.4% in afterhours trading at 6 p.m. ET.
The company also said that new licensing agreements with A+E Networks, CBS Corporation, FX, PBS Distribution and Scripps Networks Interactive boosted the Prime Instant Video catalog to more than 38,000 movies and TV episodes for subscribers, and that Amazon Studios has already debuted 14 original comedy and kids pilots.
