Known American e-commerce company Amazon, has officially launched Prime Video in more than 200 countries on Wednesday, giving competition to American entertainment company Netflix.
This means popular shows like "The Grand Tour," "Transparent" and "Man in the High Castle," which were previously available in few selected countries, can now be watched by people around the globe.
The video-on-demand streaming service, however, was not made available in China due to the country's stringent policies on regulations and censorships. China has been known to keep a tight control on its internet as well as on shows imported from other countries.
Prime Video will be bundled with Prime subscriptions in 19 countries. Consumers from other regions may avail the service for $2.99 per month for the first six months. The price will be doubled for the succeeding months. A seven-day free trial will also be offered to those who want to test the service first.
The download of movies and TV shows for offline viewing on mobile devices will also be available for Amazon Prime Video members.
Amazon's global expansion was driven by the slowing growth in video subscriptions and the increasing competition in the U.S. However, the video streaming provider will face the challenge of providing more local content.
With the company spending heavily on the creation and marketing of its contents, it hopes that people will sign up for its Prime service to access the movies and TV shows. It also looks forward to more people buying from its online store.
According to Tim Leslie, vice president of Amazon Instant Video International, the company will continue to focus on producing original content which will be available globally.
As Prime Video has been launched in nearly all countries, Amazon's streaming service has a bigger global presence compared to Netflix which was launched in 130 new markets this year.
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