Amazon Prime Video

Prime Video
Logo for the Prime Video service
Logo used since 2022
Type of businessDivision
Type of site
OTT streaming platform
Available in28 languages
List of languages
  • Arabic
  • Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin)
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • English
  • Finnish
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Hebrew
  • Hungarian
  • Indonesian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Malay
  • Norwegian (Bokmål)
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Swedish
  • Tagalog
  • Tamil
  • Telugu
  • Turkish
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Country of originUnited States
Area servedWorldwide (excluding Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Russia, Belarus,[1] Syria, and Vietnam)[2]
OwnerAmazon
Industry
Products
Services
  • Film production
  • film distribution
  • television production
  • television distribution
SubsidiariesVideo Direct
URLprimevideo.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
UsersIncrease 200 million
(as of September 3, 2022)[3]
LaunchedSeptember 7, 2006 (2006-09-07)
Current statusActive

Amazon Prime Video, or simply Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced by Amazon MGM Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals, with the service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services.

Operating worldwide, the service may require a full Prime subscription to be accessed. In countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany, the service can be accessed without a full Prime subscription,[4] whereas in Australia, Canada, France, India, Turkey, and Italy, it can only be accessed through a dedicated website. Prime Video additionally offers a content add-on service in the form of channels, called Amazon Channels, or Prime Video Channels, which allow users to subscribe to additional video subscription services from other content providers within Prime Video.[5]

Launched on September 7, 2006, as Amazon Unbox in the United States, the service grew with an expanding library, and added the Prime Video membership upon the development of the Prime subscription. It was then renamed as Amazon Instant Video on Demand. After acquiring the UK-based streaming and DVD-by-mail service LoveFilm in 2011,[6] Prime Video was added to the Prime subscription in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria in 2014,[7][8] available on a monthly subscription of £/€8.99 per month, continuing the plan of LoveFilm Instant.[9] The service was previously available in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden in 2012, but was discontinued in 2013.[10] On April 18, 2016, Amazon split Prime Video from Amazon Prime in the US for $8.99 per month.[11]

On December 14, 2016, Prime Video launched worldwide (except for Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria) expanding its reach beyond the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Japan. Among the new territories, the service was included with Prime in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Turkey, and Spain, while for all other countries, it was made available for a monthly promotional price of $/€2.99 per month for the first six months and $/€5.99 per month thereafter.[12]

  1. ^ Malik, Aisha (March 9, 2022). "Amazon suspends access to Prime Video in Russia, halts shipments to the country". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  2. ^ Luu, Quy (October 16, 2023). "Amazon Prime Video to leave Vietnam". VnExpress. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Amazon Claims First-Day Record Audience for 'Rings of Power'". The Hollywood Reporter. September 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "Amazon Prime Video subscription". Amazon. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  5. ^ Kleinman, Alexis (April 23, 2014). "Amazon Prime Just Got Way Better With A Ton Of Old HBO Shows". The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "Amazon takes full control of Lovefilm". The Guardian. January 20, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  7. ^ Sawers, Paul (February 21, 2014). "Amazon Launches Prime Instant Video in UK & Germany". The Next Web. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "Amazon launches Prime streaming in Austria". DigitalTVEurope. November 21, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  9. ^ Amazon Prime, Prime is Fast Delivery and More. Archived January 30, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Looking for the Prime Video Monthly Membership? "After your free trial, Prime Video is just £5.99/month. You can cancel your membership at any time". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  10. ^ Lawler, Ryan (June 10, 2013). "Amazon's LOVEFiLM Pulls Its Subscription DVD And Streaming Service Out Of Scandinavia". TechCrunch.
  11. ^ Benjamin Mayo (April 18, 2016). "Video streaming race heats up, Amazon now offers its Prime Video service independent of Prime subscription for $8.99/mo". 9to5Mac.
  12. ^ "Amazon Prime Video Now Available in More Than 200 Countries and Territories Around the World". Nasdaq Investor Relations. Archived from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2016.