Sources indicate that Amazon is about to expand its Prime Instant Video service into France, Italy, and Spain. The big news was first reported by French newspaper Le Figaro, which cited discussions with government officials and the fact that Amazon has recently registered relevant trademarks for their streaming service.
The folks at Amazon haven't yet confirmed that they're really taking Prime to new European markets, but their next earnings report should be coming out within the week, and it's likely that they'll use that opportunity to make the announcement.
This isn't the first European expansion for Prime. Amazon's streaming service is already available in several international markets, including the United Kingdom and Germany. Customers in France, Spain, and Italy already had access to some of Amazon Prime's perks, but so far have not enjoyed the streaming service that is included in markets like the U.S. and U.K.
Amazon's streaming service has grown fast since its coming-of-age just a few years ago (Amazon Instant Video was born in 2011 in a re-brand of an older, smaller Amazon streaming effort). Its expansion into new foreign markets only makes sense, especially given competitor Netflix's increasing focus on international markets. As competition ramps up in the OTT space, new markets become the path of least resistance to new profits, and the OTT services are following.