Amazon Prime Video Is Sneakily Streaming In Australia; Here’s What You Can And Can’t Watch
Nobody can really explain why this is happening, but everybody is taking advantage of it.
There’s been speculation for awhile now that Amazon Prime Video was gearing up for a launch in Australia — speculation that became way more credible earlier this week when Top Gear‘s Jeremy Clarkson pulled out a disturbing Aussie accent on Twitter (stick with me).
In a promo for his new show, The Grand Tour, Clarkson announced the series would be available via Amazon Prime Video in 200 countries next month — not just the four areas which normally have exclusive access to the service. It was big news, even if you hate these guys, because it meant the geo-block on the entire platform was being lifted. It’s no secret Amazon are trying to take on Netflix at their own game, and this was the biggest piece of definitive proof they were going global.
A message from the guys. pic.twitter.com/p1IJNRjAnS
— The Grand Tour (@thegrandtour) November 16, 2016
But last night, eager for the arrival, EFTM journalist Trevor Long found out you can access Amazon Prime Video right now. Long was able to get on to the service and sign up with an Australian credit card with no problems at all. In the hours since, plenty of others have done the same. You can head over to amazon.com or amazon.co.uk right now and sign up for £7.99 per month or $US10.99 per month.
Wondering why that’s not in Australian dollars and there’s been literally zero fanfare about this development? Same. Amazon haven’t released any statement on the matter which has everyone guessing it’s either a mistake, some kind of testing process, or the most chill launch in the history of the world.
Whatever the case, you might as well make the most of it while it’s here! If everything stays as is, you’ll be able to watch The Grand Tour premiere at the same time as the UK tomorrow. You will also have access to the vast library of movies and shows — a number of which have previously escaped Australian release like Goliath, Fleabag and The Man In The High Castle.
There are, however, still a number of restrictions in place with series such as Mr Robot, Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle still geo-blocked. It makes a lot of sense considering the local rights for the former are owned by Foxtel and the latter two are on Stan.
Pic via EFTM.
We’ll update this post if there’s any news from Amazon, but for now, happy bingeing! Looks like 2017 is gonna be a huge year for the streaming wars in Australia.