If you've been considering an Amazon Prime account but haven't yet pulled the trigger, tomorrow would be as good a time as any to do so. That's because, for one day only, Amazon is discounting the annual service by a full $20.
Black Friday is still a week away, so why the discount now?
Turns out, November 18 is a pretty special day for both Amazon and fans of the BBC motoring show Top Gear as it marks the debut of The Grand Tour, the new car show from former Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May that'll be available exclusively on Amazon's streaming video service.
Amazon paid big bucks for the original series (anywhere from $5.5 million to $7 million per episode according to rumors) although based on the lead-up and legion of fans the trio have developed, it'll almost certainly prove to be a solid investment.
On November 18 from 12:00 a.m. ET to 11:59 p.m. PT, newcomers will be able to purchase a Prime account for just $79, down from the standard $99 rate (or from £79 to £59 for those in the UK as of writing). The show will initially only be available to viewers in the US, UK, Germany, Japan and Austria although Amazon said it plans to bring the original series to some 200 countries in December.
That last bit shouldn't be glossed over as an expansion of that magnitude will put Amazon on level playing ground with Netflix, assuming of course that Amazon is bringing its full Prime video service to the new territories and not just The Grand Tour. My guess based on the wording in the announcement, however, is that the show will be available globally next month, not Prime Video and the slew of other Prime benefits. I've reached out to Amazon for clarification and will update this story accordingly if I hear back.
Another key bit of information is the fact that the show will launch on November 18 at 00:01 GMT worldwide meaning those in the US will have access to it later today at 7:01 p.m. ET / 4:01 p.m. PT.