Prime Video (Creator)

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Prime Video ^note is the video on-demand service owned and operated by Amazon, featuring original programming produced by sister company Amazon Studios, as well as third-party acquisitions.

Launched in 2006, Prime Video is essentially a competitor to similar subscription video streaming services Netflix and Hulu, but it also doubles as a storefront for buying and renting content, placing it as a competitor to the likes of iTunes as well. Prime Video was originally only available as a perk for Amazon Prime customers, but it became an independent service with its own subscription plan in 2016.

In conjunction with Amazon Studios, Prime Video was one of the first streaming services to begin producing their own original content, with Alpha House and Betas premiering in April 2013. Whereas Netflix produced and released seasons of their episodic programming without outside influence, however, Prime Video implemented a "pilot season" model of developing theirs. After premiering a set of pilots on the service, they allowed customers to vote on which ones they'd like to see continued to series. This process lasted for five years; as of 2018, successful pilots are now ordered straight-to-series. Woody Allen's Crisis in Six Scenes was an early beneficiary of the new model. Amazon has also picked up third-party series from cancelation, with the BBC's Ripper Street and Syfy's The Expanse getting second life on Prime.

Critical and popular response towards Prime Video's shows have generally been mixed, at least in comparison to those produced for (and released by) Netflix, though there have been some standouts. Transparent made history when it became the first show from an online streaming distribution service to win awards from major industry organizations, earning the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy Series, and Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Jeffrey Tambor, who would go on to win an Emmy for his performance as well. The Boys is also a notable mainstream success, while The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and BBC co-production Fleabag have each won Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys. On the children's programming side, Prime tends to fare well.

The Prime Video platform also incorporates Amazon's ad-supported streaming service IMDb TV, which is also freely available on the IMDb website. The service competes with other ad-based streamers such as Tubi, Peacock and Crackle. In 2020, IMDb TV began distributing some originals of its own, including the US distribution of Alex Rider^note. In 2022, the service was renamed to Amazon Freevee.

It should be noted that, like Netflix and Hulu, international availability for Prime Video has varied by territory. Needless to say, many folks from outside these regions were not pleased, especially when it comes to being blocked out of award winners like Creative Galaxy and Transparent. ^note Though Prime Video officially expanded worldwide in 2016, some areas have a wider catalog of content of others, which Amazon compensates for with reduced subscription costs for them. Global subscribers also need to use a different URL to access the content as opposed to those in countries where the service was launched earlier. The service isn't available on as many devices as the standard service is either: it appears to be a placeholder while Amazon is behind Netflix in global expansion.