Amazon has announced that it is launching a new unit to distribute its movies and TV shows to other media outlets. This will mean that Amazon original film and TV will be available on other places besides its Prime Video streaming service.
Amazon MGM Studios Distribution will develop programming to allow consumers to rent or buy the content on other services and even airplanes. It will also licence the shows to foreign TV networks.
This will be a big step for Amazon, as it starts to develop itself as a TV creator, rather than just a streaming platform.
The unit will use the company’s library of 4,000 films and 17,000 TV episodes, including originals produced by its Amazon Studios division, such as Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. Originals will be offered on other outlets after their initial run on Prime Video.
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Amazon is not the first company to make this move. Other entertainment giants like Warner Bros Discovery have been licencing more of their content to third parties as a way of generating additional revenue.
This means that companies can draw people in though subscriptions whilst also servicing customers who use other platforms.
Amazon’s move follows the company’s US$8.5 billion acquisition last year of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, home of James Bond and other franchises.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon is committing as much as US$1 billion for films which will be released in theatres, further evidence that new media companies are embracing traditional Hollywood distribution models.
