Amazon Expands Access To Prime Video To U.S. Military Members Overseas

Amazon said today it will expand access to Amazon Prime Video to military members and families serving overseas, as a part of the company’s ongoing efforts to deliver programming to those who reside on U.S. military bases around world. The service was already offered beginning back in 2014 on select international military bases, including those in Afghanistan, Turkey, Japan and Kuwait. Today, Amazon says it will begin unblocking the service at a number of other bases, too.

In addition, Amazon has partnered with the American Forces Network (AFN) to deliver its original programming through AFN’s TV broadcast network, which reaches both American bases and 140 U.S. Navy ships.

AFN will gain access to several Amazon Originals, including Golden Globe winner “Transparent,” plus “Bosch,” “Alpha House,” and “The Man in the High Castle.” These shows will begin airing on January 11 on AFN. The full schedule is below.

  • “Transparent” – Mondays 11:00 PM local time starting on January 11
  • “Bosch” – Tuesdays 11:00 PM local time starting on January 12
  • “Alpha House” – Wednesdays 11:00 PM local time starting on January 13
  • “The Man in the High Castle” – Sundays 12:00 AM local time starting on January 17

Amazon provided a list of U.S. bases that currently have access to Amazon Instant Video, but didn’t list the new bases, or offer any details on how many more were being added over the course of 2016. (We’ve reached out for further clarification on this, and will update if a response is provided.)

Instead, the company only said in vague terms that it will “continue unblocking” its U.S. Prime Video catalog on additional bases.

However, it did offer a means for military members to find out if their base will be among those that have access to the catalog – a “Contact Us” link was provided, which personnel and families can use to get more details. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the Amazon-provided link in its blog post appears to be broken. This seems to be the correct one. Choose “Amazon Video” from the issue list then “How-to questions and general usage” and the email option.

Those bases where access to Amazon Video is unblocked can watch online via amazon.com/primevideo or via connected TV or mobile devices.

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While the expansion of Amazon Video to more military bases is in part an altruistic effort, it’s also a means of getting more potential subscribers hooked on shows that they may end up paying for when their tour of duty is over, by becoming Prime subscribers. This isn’t the only way Amazon is attempting to reach those who have yet to pay for Prime – the company also forged a deal with JetBlue to become the airline’s in-flight entertainment system, offering music, books, movies, TV, apps and games.