Amazon Prime Video facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Prime Video

Logo used since 2024
Type of business	Division
Type of site	OTT streaming platform
Available in	Arabic Bengali Chinese Czech Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Marathi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Kannada Malay Malayalam Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swedish Tagalog Tamil Telugu Turkish
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Country of origin	United States
Area served	Worldwide (excluding Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Russia, Belarus, Syria, and Vietnam)
Owner	Amazon
Industry	Entertainment mass media
Products	Streaming media video on demand digital distribution
Services	Film production film distribution television production television distribution
Subsidiaries	Video Direct
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Required
Users	200 million (as of September 3,  2022 (2022 -09-03)[update])
Launched	September 7, 2006; 18 years ago (2006-09-07)
Current status	Active

Prime Video is a popular online streaming service from Amazon. It lets you watch tons of movies and TV shows whenever you want. You can get it by itself or as part of an Amazon Prime membership.

Prime Video offers many shows and movies made by Amazon MGM Studios. These are called Amazon Originals. The service also has content from other companies. You can even rent or buy movies and shows. Plus, it streams live sports events!

Prime Video is available almost everywhere in the world. In some countries, you can get it without a full Prime membership. In others, like Canada or India, you need to access it through a special website. Prime Video also has "channels." These are extra subscription services from other companies that you can add right within Prime Video.

The service started on September 7, 2006, as Amazon Unbox in the United States. It grew over time and added the Prime Video membership. It was later called Amazon Instant Video on Demand. In 2011, Amazon bought a UK streaming service called LoveFilm. Prime Video then became part of the Prime membership in the UK, Germany, and Austria in 2014. On December 14, 2016, Prime Video became available in many more countries around the world.

How Prime Video Started

Prime Video first launched on September 7, 2006. It was called Amazon Unbox back then. In 2008, its name changed to Amazon Video on Demand. Later, in 2011, it became Amazon Instant Video. At that time, it added 5,000 movies and TV shows for Amazon Prime members.

Growing with New Content

Amazon made deals with big companies like Viacom in 2012. This added shows from channels like MTV and Nickelodeon. They also made a deal with Epix (now MGM+) for more movies. In 2013, Amazon started making its own shows. The first ones were comedies called Alpha House and Betas. These were only available on Prime Instant Video.

In 2014, Amazon combined its UK streaming service, LoveFilm, into Instant Video. A show called Transparent made history in 2015. It was the first show from a streaming service to win a major award, a Golden Globe!

Big Shows and Global Growth

In 2015, Amazon hired the famous hosts of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. They created a new car show called The Grand Tour for Prime Video. This show was very expensive to make but became very popular.

Also in 2015, the name changed again to simply Amazon Video. In 2016, Amazon announced plans to stream The Grand Tour all over the world. This led to Prime Video expanding to 200 more countries on December 14, 2016.

Recent Developments

In 2021, Amazon bought the famous Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). This deal was completed in 2022. It means many classic movies and shows from MGM are now part of Amazon's content. Amazon also made a deal with Universal Pictures in 2021. This brought popular movie series like Fast & Furious and Jurassic Park to Prime Video.

Amazon also signed a long-term deal with Shepperton Studios in 2022. This gives them special access to new production places. In 2022, Prime Video also expanded to Southeast Asia. They added local content and languages for countries like Indonesia and Thailand.

What You Can Watch

Prime Video has a huge library of content. This includes movies, TV shows, and even live sports.

Original Shows and Movies

Prime Video creates its own shows and movies. These are called Amazon Originals. They make content for different age groups and interests. Some popular examples include The Lord of the Rings series.

Amazon Channels

In 2015, Amazon started a program called Amazon Channels. This lets you subscribe to other streaming services right through Prime Video. It's like adding extra channels to your TV package. These channels cost extra, but they offer more content. Examples include Showtime, Starz, and Discovery Channel.

Sports on Prime Video

Prime Video has also become a big player in sports streaming.

Football

In 2017, Amazon got rights to stream some NFL Thursday Night Football games in the US. In 2021, they became the exclusive broadcaster for these games from 2022 to 2033! This means you can watch many NFL games live on Prime Video.

In the UK, Amazon also secured rights to broadcast 20 live Premier League football matches each season. This started in 2019. In 2022, Prime Video also made a deal to air 17 UEFA Champions League football games in the UK for the 2023–24 season.

Tennis

Amazon also streams a lot of tennis. They acquired the British rights to the ATP World Tour starting in 2019. This includes many major tennis tournaments. They also got the British rights to the US Open tennis tournament for five years starting in 2018.

Basketball

In 2022, Prime Video got the rights to broadcast NBA games in Brazil. This means basketball fans in Brazil can watch NBA action on the service.

Ads on Prime Video

Starting in early 2024, Prime Video began showing a few ads during its content. If you want to watch without ads, you can pay a small extra fee each month. This change helps Prime Video earn more money, just like many other streaming services. The ad-supported version is currently available in places like the US, Canada, and the UK.

Where and How to Watch

Prime Video is available almost everywhere in the world. Some countries where it's not available include Mainland China, Cuba, and North Korea.

How to Access Prime Video

You can watch Prime Video in many ways:

• On your computer using a web browser.
• On Amazon Fire devices (like Fire TV sticks and tablets).
• On other mobile phones and tablets.
• On streaming devices like Roku and video game consoles (PlayStation, Xbox).
• On smart TVs.

For a while, Amazon didn't support Apple TV or Google's Chromecast. But now, you can use the Prime Video app on Apple TV. You can also use Chromecast with the Prime Video mobile app.

Payment Methods

In most countries, you can pay for Prime Video with debit or credit cards. In some places, like Mexico, you can even use Amazon Gift Card balance for your subscription. Some countries also let you use digital wallets, like DANA or ShopeePay, to pay.

Video and Audio Quality

Prime Video offers great picture and sound quality.

Picture Quality

Depending on your device, you can watch shows and movies in very high quality. This includes 4K (also called Ultra HD) and HDR (High Dynamic Range). Many titles also support 1080p (HD) quality.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Prime Video worked with internet providers. They helped reduce the quality of streaming slightly to make sure internet networks didn't get overloaded. This helped everyone stay connected while working from home.

Devices You Can Watch On

Prime Video is available on many different devices:

Awards and Nominations

Prime Video has won awards for its service and content.

See Also

• Amazon Prime