Prime Video Plots Future of More Broad-Appeal Originals, Increased Theatrical Movie Production
Prime Video Plots Future of More Broad-Appeal Originals, Increased Theatrical Movie Production
Amazon wants to create a ‘Prime without the shipping’ customer experience for its marquee streaming service.
The future is bright at Prime Video, or so hopes the streamer’s head man Mike Hopkins. Hopkins has overseen the evolution of Prime Video for the past four years, and he’s not through plotting the platform’s course for the future. Amazon wants to continue building its top streaming service to be a leader in the industry, and changes like the introduction of ads to Prime Video in January were just the beginning.
Key Details:
- More sports rights and bigger-name celebrities are a key part of Prime Video’s strategy to continue its growth.
- Amazon plans to spend more to boost its theatrical movie output.
- Viewers should expect a content strategy seeking more titles with broad, global appeal.
The strategy for Prime Video is continuing to unfold, and one of its biggest recent wins was the acquisition of a package of broadcast rights for the NBA beginning in the fall of 2025. If Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t swoop in and take that package through legal maneuvering, it will mark the second major deal with a top sports league that Prime Video has secured in recent years, after becoming the exclusive national broadcaster of “Thursday Night Football” in 2022.
But live sports is just part of the strategy for growing Prime Video. Reuters reports that the company has increased its content budget to $13.6 billion this year and is intentionally seeking to partner with more A-list stars in order to condition consumers to think of its original shows and movies as more culturally relevant.
The company knows that “they need premium content and celebrities in order to attract advertisers,” Jessica Brown, an executive for media buyer GroupM told Reuters. “Before, they had the reach and scale, but they didn’t have the content story.”
Amazon wants Prime Video to make deeper investments in content with broad, global appeal. Recent data from Ampere shows that Prime Video is making up a large portion of global streaming commissions currently, and according to talent agents who have worked with the streamer, its content strategy is to bring viewers the TV equivalent of the “airport novel,” something that goes down easy and enjoyably featuring recognizable stars. Shows with more broad appeal will get bigger budgets going forward.
Prime Video is also continuing to build out the different types of offerings on the platform. Hopkins has expressed a desire to recreate “Prime without the shipping” on Prime Video, and indeed the streamer has already made great strides in providing viewers with various types of video content. Original shows and movies are just part of the equation; the streamer also hosts free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels and other free content on Freevee and continues to host a digital rental and purchase platform for watching new movies not available to stream elsewhere. Prime Video Channels allows viewers to buy other streaming subscriptions and keep them on the same bill, and Prime Video recently redesigned its interface to make navigation easier.
Back to the Theater
Another facet of Amazon’s plan to continue growing its video service is to add more content that won’t initially be found on Prime Video. Amazon wants to increase its output of theatrical films; in 2022, the company pledged to invest at least $1 billion per year on its theatrical slate, and has eyes on increasing its output to as many as 16 films per year by 2027.
That could be an expensive gamble for Amazon. Movie theaters are still not bringing in crowds the way that they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, and some economists are questioning whether they’ll ever reach those heights again. Apple also pledged to spend big to bring more movies to theaters in 2023, but in 2024, Apple TV+ has begun importing more licensed movies after Apple original films like “Napoleon” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” failed to become box-office juggernauts.
Like Apple, however, Amazon can afford to make some gambles with its video budget. The company’s main revenue source continues to be its e-commerce platform, which has the added benefit of allowing customers who see a product advertised on Prime Video to go buy that product immediately. That gives Prime Video some wiggle room, even though the ultimate goal of the streamer is to turn a profit.
“What we’re really trying to build is not just a single subscription service — I think we’ve proven that we can play a much broader game,” Hopkins said. “We’re on track to be a meaningfully profitable business in our own right.”
Prime Video
Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.