LUXEMBOURG, February 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Amazon is investing heavily in exclusive content, giving Prime members access to hundreds of popular movies and TV shows that can only be found on Prime Instant Video such as The Hangover Part II, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, The Walking Dead, and Vikings Season 2, which is available the day after the US premiere

Amazon will also continue to increase its investment in original programming - Amazon Studios' hit series Alpha House and Betas are coming soon with three original children's series to follow this year, and the company recently introduced 10 new pilots from creators such as Chris Carter (The X-Files), Eric Overmyer (The Wire, Treme), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch), Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom), Jason Schwartzman (Saving Mr. Banks), Tony-nominated Alex Timbers, Oscar-nominated Paul Weitz, Emmy-nominated Jill Soloway (Six Feet Under), Ice Cube and Michael Strahan

With the addition of Prime Instant Video, Prime will be offered at the low price of £79 a year - a 35% saving for what were previously separate services.  Customers who join during the countdown period can lock in a full year of unlimited One-Day Delivery and unlimited streaming for only £49

With millions of subscribers, Amazon Prime and LOVEFiLM Instant are two of the most popular subscription services in the UK.  Today, Amazon announced that it is combining these two services beginning February 26.  Amazon Prime offers members unlimited One-Day Delivery on over 7 million items and access to 500,000 Kindle books to borrow.  LOVEFiLM Instant includes unlimited streaming of more than 15,000 popular movies and TV episodes.  When the two programmes combine, Prime will be offered at the low price of £79 a year - a 35% saving for all the benefits of the two previously separate services.  As a special offer, for the next week only, new customers can lock in a full year of Prime at £49.  Current Prime members can enjoy unlimited streaming at their current price until their renewal date. Customers who are not already members can start a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime by visiting http://www.amazon.co.uk/prime.  

As LOVEFiLM Instant becomes Prime Instant Video, Amazon is increasing its investment in exclusive content and original programming only available through Prime. Members will have unlimited access to exclusive movies such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Hangover Part II,  One Direction: This Is Us, Friends with Benefits and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, as well as TV shows such as The Walking Dead, Dexter, Vikings, Downton Abbey, Desperate Housewives, and children's favourites Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam, and SpongeBob SquarePants. They will also have exclusive access to Amazon original TV series Alpha House at launch and Betas, which debuts soon.

"We've worked hard to offer the best selection of TV shows and movies for Prime Instant Video-in fact, we've more than tripled selection since LOVEFiLM became part of the Amazon family," said Tim Leslie, Vice President of Amazon Instant Video for the UK and Germany.  "We also added high definition video and introduced apps for popular devices like Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung and Sony TVs and iPads and iPhones.  Customers who love movies and TV will love Amazon Prime Instant Video."  

"Millions of customers in the US have streaming video included as part of their Prime membership and they tell us they love the combination of unlimited delivery, the ability to borrow Kindle books, and convenient access to thousands of the most popular movies, TV shows and exclusive videos," said Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon Prime. "We are delighted to be bringing that same combination of services to the UK, providing members truly unique benefits they can enjoy every day of the year."

Prime members can watch movies and TV shows on hundreds of popular devices such as Kindle Fire, iPad and iPhone, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, Nintendo and Samsung, Sony, LG and other smart TVs.

For more information about Amazon Prime, visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/prime.

For more information about Prime Instant Video, visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/primevideo.

About Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998 and strives to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavours to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.

Amazon.co.uk and other sellers offer millions of new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Baby, Books, Car & Motorbike, Clothing, DIY & Tools, DVD, Electronics & Photo, Grocery, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Jewellery, MP3, Music, Musical Instruments & DJ, Office, PC, Pet Supplies, Shoes, Software, Sports & Leisure, Toys & Games, Video Games and Watches.

Kindle Paperwhite is our most-advanced e-reader ever with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design.  The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD is our most-advanced tablet, with a stunning customised high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support and dual antennas/MIMO, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine. The all-new Kindle Fire features a faster processor for 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.

Amazon.co.uk is a trading name for Amazon EU S.à.r.l, Amazon Services Europe S.à.r.l and Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l. All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), located in Seattle, Washington. Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com, http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de, http://www.amazon.co.jp, http://www.amazon.fr, http://www.amazon.ca, http://www.amazon.cn, http://www.amazon.it, http://www.amazon.es and http://www.amazon.com.br. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.

Amazon.co.uk is a trading name for Amazon EU S.a.r.l, Amazon Services Europe S.a.r.l and Amazon Media EU S.a.r.l. All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), located in Seattle, Washington. Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com, http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de, http://www.amazon.co.jp, http://www.amazon.fr, http://www.amazon.ca, http://www.amazon.cn, http://www.amazon.it, and http://www.amazon.es. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Amazon.Co.UK Ltd's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

SOURCE Amazon