Amazon looks to take on Netflix by offering Prime Video worldwide

By Kris Wouk December 14, 2016

amazon prime video global expansion the grand tour — Amazon / The Grand Tour

Amazon’s The Grand Tour is a major hit — so much so that it’s also become one of the most widely pirated shows on the internet. Part of this could have had to do with the fact that it’s only available via Amazon Prime Video, which wasn’t available in many countries. That is no longer the case, however, as on Wednesday Amazon announced that Prime Video is now available in more than 200 countries.

“We are excited to announce that starting today, fans around the world have access to Prime Video,” Amazon Digital Video International vice president Tim Leslie said in a statement. “The Grand Tour and other critically acclaimed Amazon Original Series like Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, and The Man in the High Castle, along with hundreds of popular Hollywood movies and TV shows, are now available at the introductory price of only $2.99 a month. And what’s really exciting is that we are just getting started.”

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Customers in countries where Prime Video is new but Amazon Prime has already been available — such as Belgium, Canada, France, India, Italy, and Spain — can start watching immediately at no extra cost to their Prime membership. Customers in other countries will need to sign up for a stand-alone Prime Video membership, first introduced by the company earlier this year. These customers will be able to take advantage of an introductory price of $3 or 3 euros for the first six months.

While this may help curb piracy of the service’s most popular show, but that’s not all. The new availability also puts the service on more equal footing with Netflix, which became available around the world at the start of the year.

In addition to the introductory pricing, customers will be able to try out the service with a seven-day free trial by visiting the Prime Video website.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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