Amazon hopes The Grand Tour will help its internet television service, Prime Video, make an impact.

Retail giant Amazon looks set to bring its Prime Video service to New Zealand next month, giving Kiwis another Netflix-like internet television option.

Amazon is notoriously media averse and the move hasn't been explicitly confirmed by Amazon, but it has been hinted at in its online communications.

It is part of a global expansion which will see Prime Video offered to consumers in about 200 countries.

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What is Amazon Prime Video?

It's Amazon's version of Netflix, offering thousands of films and television entertainment shows.

Its "exclusive" content includes Jeremy Clarkson's big-budget Top Gear follow-up The Grand Tour.

Is it the same as Amazon Prime?

No. Amazon Prime is a broader subscription service available in a smaller number of countries that also offers advantages to people buying goods from Amazon.

Details vary according to the countries where it is available.

People who sign up to Amazon Prime get Prime Video and a streaming music service, Prime Music. But one of the biggest features of Amazon Prime is that it provides free and faster shipping options for items bought from Amazon.com.

In the US, Amazon Prime offers some other benefits such as a "lending library" for Kindle e-books.

Amazon began letting customers sign up to Amazon Prime Video without subscribing to the wider Amazon Prime service in April, in the countries where it is already available.

In the US, for example, Amazon Prime costs US$10.99 a month, while Amazon Prime Video costs US$8.99.

I thought Amazon Prime Video had already launched here and in Australia?

There has been some confusion about this.

It appears Amazon has removed the "geo-blocks" that prevented Kiwis and Australians from signing up to the US and British versions of Amazon Prime, but is only providing them with access to a subset Prime Video content for which it has global rights.

Amazon appears to have removed the geo-blocks to satisfy Clarkson fans who don't want to wait until next month to watch The Grand Tour (which debuted on Friday) and who might otherwise have found ways to pirate the show.

The company has been approached for clarification.

Is Amazon Prime Video likely to be worth it?

Kym Niblock, chief executive of Spark's Lightbox internet television service, is impressed.

The Grand Tour is Prime Video's headline act.

But Niblock says it is offering a range of good independent content that she believes may have broader appeal than Netflix' glossy originals, for example among older viewers.

"I think some of the shows that we are seeing come out of Amazon are truly original thinking.

"They are one of the players who can give Netflix a run for their money."

But Niblock says the extra competition is not bad news for Lightbox, as Prime Video will expand the market for internet television.

It is becoming increasingly common for viewers to subscribe to more than one service at the same time, given their low cost, she says.

"I still maintain there is enough content for several players. Some of the data we are seeing now is that people are happy to have two, three or four paid-for services that they mix and match."

Niblock commended Prime Video shows Bosch, Red Oaks and The Man in the High Castle.

But in an increasingly crowded market, Amazon could struggle to get cut-through, unless it does a good job of explaining its proposition to non-Clarkson fans.

Will the broader Amazon Prime service come to NZ?

Probably, down the track. What would change things would be if Amazon were to open a distribution centre in Australia. That could allow it to offer meaningful shipping benefits to Kiwis as part of the premium service.

There are strong rumours Amazon does intend to open a distribution centre in Sydney next year.