Update (2/26/2015): It has been officially confirmed today that Amazon UK will be airing Outlander. The first eight episodes will be added to their library on March 26th. The new episodes, which start in the US on April 4th, will be added weekly starting on April 5th. They also acquired future seasons (series) of Outlander. You can visit Amazon Prime UK to start a subscription.
“Jay Marine, Vice President of Amazon Instant Video in the EU, said: “In the last year we have launched some fantastic shows for our customers, what better way to celebrate our first anniversary than by bringing the gripping first series of Outlander exclusively to our millions of UK Prime member.
“Filmed in Scotland and already hugely popular stateside, we can’t wait to bring the show and its stellar cast of breakthrough British talent to the UK where we know there is a huge fan following already.
“This addition to the Amazon Prime Instant Video portfolio will be in great company alongside our exciting range of award winning and critically acclaimed original and exclusive TV shows such as Transparent, Ripper Street, Bosch, Vikings, and Mozart in the Jungle.”
Mike Wald, executive vice president, international distribution for Sony Pictures Television, said: “Amazon is an ideal partner for this rich, cinematic production which has already thrilled millions of fans worldwide, and now UK audiences can binge on the episodes and enjoy it on demand.”
Here is the official press release from Amazon Prime UK:
Amazon Prime Instant Video Celebrates One Year Anniversary By Bringing US Smash Outlander Home
The long wait for Outlander fans is almost over as Series 1 premiere date is set for 26th March exclusively on the UK’s largest movie and TV streaming service, Prime Instant Video
LONDON – 26 February 2015 – Today, in celebration of Amazon Prime Instant Video’s first anniversary, Amazon announced that Outlander – the smash-hit US show filmed in Scotland – will be available in the UK exclusively to millions of Amazon Prime Instant Video customers for unlimited streaming from 26th March 2015.
Outlander was acquired in a deal with Sony Pictures Television, who distributes the series worldwide. The hit drama is filmed at locations across Scotland, featuring a British & Irish cast, and is the winner of this year’s People’s Choice Awards for Favourite Cable Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Show. The show has an 8.8 out of 10 IMDb rating.
Outlander will be joining major exclusive shows on the UK’s largest streaming service including award-winning Transparent, British customers favourite period drama Ripper Street, Roman Coppola’s orchestral comedy Mozart in the Jungle, Norse action-drama Vikings,and the latest Amazon Original Bosch – the most watched Amazon Original series in its opening weekend, with already more than 700 customer reviews averaging at 4.8 out of 5 stars.
On 26 February 2014 Amazon Prime Instant Video launched in the UK with the announcement that Amazon had commissioned a third season of the critically-acclaimed British period crime drama Ripper Street. It’s been a landmark first year for Amazon Prime Instant Video, from breaking history as the first streaming service to win a Golden Globe for Best TV Series with Transparent, saving the much loved series Ripper Street from the axe, bringing flagship shows such as Vikings and Black Sails exclusively to its customers and signing up legendary director Woody Allen to deliver his first ever TV series. Prime customers are also able to stream exclusive popular movies including 12 Years A Slave, Django Unchained, Life of Pi and Pitch Perfect – in all there are more than 15,000 popular movies and TV episodes available for unlimited streaming, the UK’s largest subscription streaming selection.
“In the last year we have launched some fantastic shows for our customers, what better way to celebrate our first anniversary than by bringing the gripping first series of Outlander exclusively to our millions of UK Prime members,” said Jay Marine, Vice President of Amazon Instant Video in the EU. “Filmed in Scotland and already hugely popular stateside, we can’t wait to bring the show and its stellar cast of breakthrough British talent to the UK where we know there is a huge fan following already. This addition to the Amazon Prime Instant Video portfolio will be in great company alongside our exciting range of award winning and critically acclaimed original and exclusive TV shows such as Transparent, Ripper Street, Bosch, Vikings, and Mozart in the Jungle.”
Mike Wald, executive vice president, international distribution for Sony Pictures Television, said: “Amazon is an ideal partner for this rich, cinematic production which has already thrilled millions of fans worldwide, and now UK audiences can binge on the episodes and enjoy it on demand.”
The first 8 episodes of the Outlander season one will be available on Prime Instant Video from Thursday 26th March for fans to binge watch. The remaining episodes will then launch weekly on Amazon Prime Instant Video from Sunday 5th April, each episode being released every Sunday just hours after broadcast in the US.
Amazon Prime Instant Video has also secured the rights to further series, with the second season set to start filming this summer.
Executive produced by Ron Moore and based on the best-selling books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander is shot in the Scottish Highlands and features an all-star British cast including breakthrough stars Caitriona Balfe (Now You See Me, Escape Plan and Super 8) as Claire Randall and Sam Heughan (A Princess for Christmas) as Jamie Fraser.
Outlander is a gripping tale of love, lust and passionate adventures into the past. The show follows the story of Claire, a married World War II nurse who is thrown back in time from 1945 into an unknown world, set in 1743.
Outlander also stars; Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones) as Frank Randall/Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, Graham McTavish (The Hobbit) as Dougal MacKenzie, Gary Lewis (Billy Elliot) as Colum MacKenzie, Lotte Verbeek (The Fault in our Stars) as Geillis Duncan, Duncan Lacroix(Vikings) as Murtagh Fitzgibbons, Stephen Walters (Batman Begins) as Angus Mhor and Annette Badland (Eastenders) as Mrs Fitz.
Outlander is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining and Supply Company and Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television.
Outlander will be available to stream on more than 400 devices, including Fire tablets, iPad, iPhone, Amazon Fire Phone, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and Wii U, amongst others, and online at www.amazon.co.uk/PIV. Prime members can add Outlander to their Watchlist and easily access new episodes when they become available every week.
Millions of Amazon Prime members in the UK benefit from unlimited One-Day Delivery on over 7 million items, unlimited photo storage on the Amazon Could Drive, access to unlimited streaming of more than 15,000 popular movies and TV episodes through Prime Instant Video, the UK’s largest streaming service, and over 650,000 Kindle titles to borrow for free from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, all for just £79 a year.
Those who are not already Prime members can sign up for a 30-day free trial at www.amazon.co.uk/prime.
Original Post: Although there is no official confirmation (and they declined to comment) from Sony Pictures Television, it looks like Outlander fans in the United Kingdom finally know where they will be able to watch Outlander. Multiple reports have Amazon Prime UK picking up the rights to Outlander. The news broke on Broadcast and spread to other legitimate online sites from there.
Some fans are already expressing disappointment that the series was not picked up by a major television channel. In the U.S., both Netflix and Amazon Prime are exciting new options for great television series. A lot of U.K. series end up going to Amazon Prime or Netflix here.
There is no word on a premiere date. If we get confirmation from Sony or Amazon Prime UK, we will update this post.
Update (2/11/2015): Amazon has refused to comment on the situation as well. (via BBC News)
Source: Broadcast, TV Wise, The Herald, Digital Spy UK, Evening Times,
