One of the largest companies in the world, Amazon seems at a loss as to what to do with its streaming platform, Prime Video. Despite having big name franchises in its catalog, such as The boys, Lord of the Rings It’s next fallas well as award-winning series such as Lots of fleas AND The wonderful Mrs. MaiselJeff Bezos’ company fails to knock out its industry competitors.
According to anonymous sources interviewed by The Hollywood Reporterthe problem is the marketing logic of big tech.
Context
It’s no secret that Jeff Bezos has long wanted his own game of Thrones, a resounding success that made the name of Prime Video streaming. Amazon’s attempt to achieve this status was The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerwhich, despite the huge budget – the series is considered the most expensive ever made – has not achieved the desired results.
The company provided limited production data, but insiders confirmed the series had a domestic completion rate (people who watched the entire series, in the US) of just 37%; globally, the rate was 45%. A completion rate of at least 50% would be fine, but not good.
The head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, denied that the lower than expected performance provoked internal conversations and described The rings of power as “a great opportunity”.
Amazon Prime Video is delayed
great technological logic
Jennifer Salke’s rationale makes sense with Amazon’s big tech approach: they produce what fits within the company’s broad scope.
I’ve never been one to say, ‘We need five action series and three workplace comedies.’ This is the kiss of death. You do not decode true creative vision. We are planning for over 250 million homes worldwide. We would say we have a large and broad audience and are looking for content that entertains all four quadrants (male and female, over and under 35)
Jennifer Salke
Other cases of culture shock between a Hollywood-oriented company and a big tech concern the way employees are treated.
Unlike other entertainment companies, which have high status and work environments in line with Hollywood glamor, Amazon’s employees, except for top executives, work in cubical offices with small closets.
The pay is also not good. Amazon limits payout to $350,000 with stock options. This is very different from how Hollywood works. Netflix, for example, allows employees to choose what percentage of their pay is cash and stock.
stream metrics
In addition to the office layout and the remuneration system, the logic of big tech extends to metrics: streaming was based only on numbers.
Technology-enabled platforms have allowed metrics to make the decisions, rather than bosses and creative departments. Meanwhile, in Hollywood, the instinct of what can make it big is more valued.
An example of this is the Thursday night football, Amazon’s foray into live sports. Spending $1 billion annually, the result is a record number of Prime subscribers on its debut broadcast.
While this is good for streaming and rising numbers, TV and film creatives have wondered why they should invest time into producing when the platform doesn’t value them and prefers to spend it on exclusive sports.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporterexperts say the success of live sports has changed the way the company views TV and movies.
Original content from Amazon
According to the company’s earnings report, of the $16.6 billion spent on music and video last year, Amazon invested $7 billion in “Amazon originals, live sports, and licensed third-party video content included on Prime”.
The value is half that of its biggest rival, Netflix: the company spent about $16.84 billion in 2022.
Despite the billion-dollar investments, the streaming service adds reasons not to get ahead of its competitors. It’s up to Amazon to figure out how to handle Prime Video.
With information from The Hollywood Reporter
Image: Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock
The post How Amazon is Hurting Prime Video first appeared on Olhar Digital.
Source: Olhar Digital
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
