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[Spyxos]

Amazon.com Inc. CEO Andy Jassy is taking a hard look at how much the company’s Hollywood studio spends on original TV programming. In recent weeks, he has asked executives for detailed budget analyses of some of their biggest shows, according to people familiar with the matter, scrutinizing the studio’s ballooning costs and mixed track record with audiences.

The Hollywood studio, which has spent tens of billions of dollars on original programming over the last decade, is an obvious place to look for savings. Last year, Amazon spent $7 billion on original shows, licensed programs and sports, up from $5 billion the year before. Only Netflix and Disney spend more on streaming.

In the past nine months, Amazon has released at least a half-dozen pricey series that failed to deliver huge audiences. Daisy Jones & the Six, The Power, Dead Ringers and The Peripheral all cost more than $100 million to produce but failed to crack Nielsen’s list of the 10 most-watched streaming programs in the US. Even The Rings of Power ($400 million-plus), a show that attracted a large audience, failed to hold on to most of its viewers over the course of the season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

No show illustrates Amazon’s liberal spending better than Citadel, a global spy thriller that cost more than $250 million for one season. Despite being one of the most expensive series in TV history, Citadel has failed to chart as one of the 10 most-watched streaming programs in the US in any week since it debuted, according to Nielsen. It did hit the top 10 among streaming originals for a week, coming in just behind Netflix Inc.’s Barbecue Showdown.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/news...n-its-big-spending?srnd=premium&sref=W6GJF3MS

 

[Ownage]

Jack Reacher was really good, fwiw.

 

[bitbydeath]

People complain about Netflix but unlike most other services it excels at getting really good new content. Amazon doesn’t have much outside of The Boys and Reacher.

 

[EviLore]

People complain about Netflix but unlike most other services it excels at getting really good new content. Amazon doesn’t have much outside of The Boys and Reacher.

Terminal List!

 

[DKehoe]

Citadel’s budget is ridiculous, one of the most expensive shows ever. But I’ve not heard anyone say anything about it. It’s like it doesn’t exist. I’m guessing it’s not great but I’ve got no impression of what it’s meant to be like.

 

[EviLore]

Citadel’s budget is ridiculous, one of the most expensive shows ever. But I’ve not heard anyone say anything about it. It’s like it doesn’t exist. I’m guessing it’s not great but I’ve got no impression of what it’s meant to be like.

Low aggregate stats and generic/uninteresting trailer, would usually not bother:

 

[Wildebeest]

Budget. 25% production. 50% puffing the egos of talentless millennial writers and show runners who hate the source material. 25% making sure the audio mix renders the dialogue totally incompressible.

 

[tkscz]

They already spent $1 billion on Rings of Power as they ordered 4 seasons at once and the first season lost more than half it's audience by episode 3. Shows don't need astronomical budgets to be successful. Hell, the most watch shows are reality TV shows that cost all of a potato to make.

 

[BadBurger]

He needs to look at his management responsible for hiring creative talent. Rings was one of the most expensive seasons of television ever (or the most?), and for showrunners they hired two guys with no experience. They didn't even have credits on their IMDB page at the time.

Garbage in, garbage out.

That said I did really like some of their stuff but much of it was from years ago, recently concluded, and/or was never going to be the type of shows to chart in the top 10 consistently. Eat the World (cooking and culture show), Goliath, Sneaky Pete, Fleabag, the first season of Jack Ryan. I think only Reacher is something I enjoyed that is getting a future season.

Edit: oh yea, I forgot about Clarkson's Farm. The second season is especially good and funny.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Man in the high castle
Jack reacher
Terminal list

I think thats about it for the content i've found interesting on prime, if it didnt come bundled with the regular sub I would not be subscribed.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Man in the high castle
Jack reacher
Terminal list

I think thats about it for the content i've found interesting on prime, if it didnt come bundled with the regular sub I would not be subscribed.

Man In The High Castle should have had one more season

 

[Sleepwalker]

Man In The High Castle should have had one more season

I just started it recently and still am on the first season! Hopefully it stays good.

 

[mclaren777]

This has me worried about the 3 Body Problem but, thankfully, the Tencent version has been exquisite and it seems likely to continue for books 2 & 3.

Even if (when?) Netflix drops the ball, China has us covered.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I just started it recently and still am on the first season! Hopefully it stays good.

Great show but the 4th and final season is rushed. Should have had a 5th season. Not gonna to spoil it. Just enjoy the ride

 

[yet_another_alt]

Should have diverted a bit of those funds to The Expanse.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Should have diverted a bit of those funds to The Expanse.

Another great show that had a terrible last 2 seasons

 

[Celcius]

If anything he needs to look at why there are so many ads on Twitch

 

[poppabk]

They have had a bunch of decent stuff but have really struggled to get anything into the zeitgeist.

 

[bitbydeath]

Terminal List!

True, I had forgotten about that one.

 

[AJUMP23]

People complain about Netflix but unlike most other services it excels at getting really good new content. Amazon doesn’t have much outside of The Boys and Reacher.

Clarksons farm is there best show.

 

[March Climber]

Amazon doesn’t have much outside of The Boys and Reacher.

They have a decent amount of good content, but I never see nor hear about any of it unless I randomly check prime video when bored or when a twitch ad might pop up. Outside of that, I don't see billboards outside showcasing Amazon Prime Shows, I don't hear word of mouth about anything from them, I barely see any website ads showing them, and I don't even see most of them reviewed often either.

It feels like Prime shows exist in some weird walled garden and they need to figure out how to make them stand out more to larger audiences...audiences who probably all have access to this content because nearly everyone owns an Amazon Prime account.

This might be a slightly warm take, but I don't think their streaming app should have been called 'Prime' anything. It should have been given a completely different name, like twitch, and it should be completely disconnected from 'rentals' and 'purchase now' content being displayed on the front page, because almost all of the streaming services don't do that and for good reason. You don't want to confuse average viewers or give them the wrong impression(that this service is like VUDU/MoviesAnywhere when it's trying to be more like Netflix or HBO).

 

[bitbydeath]

Clarksons farm is there best show.

Haven’t watched it, the last reality show I watched was probably Big Brother Uncensored.

 

[Azelover]

I don't like Amazon's pricing structure. At least here in Brazil you sign up to the service, and you still have to pay extra to get access to a lot of the content. Netflix is more expensive upfront, but at least you know what you're getting. There is access to the entire library with no limitations. I'm definitely not gonna keep up with my Amazon subscription once my current stay runs out.

 

[Ownage]

Citadel’s budget is ridiculous, one of the most expensive shows ever. But I’ve not heard anyone say anything about it. It’s like it doesn’t exist. I’m guessing it’s not great but I’ve got no impression of what it’s meant to be like.

Big tax write-off for Amazon while showing DE&I virtue signaling.

 

[jason10mm]

We are gonna see a major collapse of serialized TV. Those shows cost a damned fortune, the writers are all kn strike anyway, and they ha e low rewatxh potential.

Ensemble episodic tv is making a comback!

 

[StueyDuck]

We are gonna see a major collapse of serialized TV. Those shows cost a damned fortune, the writers are all kn strike anyway, and they ha e low rewatxh potential.

Ensemble episodic tv is making a comback!

I would take a new chuck type of TV show or a show like fringe anyday over whatever the hell powers is

Amazon has some great plays with the grand tour and terminal list, I've enjoyed a fair amount of content on there but they definitely are spending too much on big budget shite like rings of power.

TV shows and movies definitely can scale back.

 

[StueyDuck]

Low aggregate stats and generic/uninteresting trailer, would usually not bother:

I watched the trailer when it released and I literally had no idea what it was about, like sure there were two spies and a bad guy, but the trailer had literally 0 plot details leading me to believe the show had 0 plot.

Now I haven't watched it and maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised but I wouldn't be shocked to hear the show is pointless

 

[SilverLeaf]

If they're going to invest in big budget series, maybe allocate more of the funding to marketing. Aside from Rings of Power and Man in The High Castle, I haven't even heard of the rest of these series.

 

[jufonuk]

Make some actual good new material or be more selective with what you purchase.

 

[kruis]

This might be a slightly warm take, but I don't think their streaming app should have been called 'Prime' anything. It should have been given a completely different name, like twitch, and it should be completely disconnected from 'rentals' and 'purchase now' content being displayed on the front page, because almost all of the streaming services don't do that and for good reason. You don't want to confuse average viewers or give them the wrong impression(that this service is like VUDU/MoviesAnywhere when it's trying to be more like Netflix or HBO).

Absolutely. I've got friends who also have Amazon Prime Video and never watch anything on the service because they really hate how movies that are buy/rental only videos are shown among the free stuff. They feel the app is enticing them to spend money on rentals instead of letting them watch stuff for free, so they stop using it altogether. They got Prime for the shipping anyway, so they don't feel like they're losing anything.

 

[kruis]

Make some actual good material or be more selective with what you purchase.

There are good shows on Prime:

The Boys
Marvelous Mss Maisel
Jack Reacher
Bosch
Jack Ryan
Terminal List
The Expanse
Man in the High Castle
Jeremy Clarkson's farming show

 

[ZehDon]

Not a great sign. The sheer amount of money Amazon has poured into its shows, only to come up short on most was bound to raise questions eventually. After the catastrophic reception to The Rings of Power, I'm surprised it's taken this long.

I will say, The Boys is just about the best thing on TV (when its on) and I thoroughly enjoyed Reacher. So, they do have some good stuff.

 

[Spaceman292]

We are gonna see a major collapse of serialized TV. Those shows cost a damned fortune, the writers are all kn strike anyway, and they ha e low rewatxh potential.

Ensemble episodic tv is making a comback!

Simply fire all the writers. They're all terrible and they don't want to work anyway.

 

[ShadowNate]

I didn't care much for Jack Reacher but The Terminal List was very well done and I'm looking forward to another season of that.

The Peripheral looked like it could be interesting, but by the third episode I was completely bored by it. Apparently this is also based on a series of books.

And I've only watched half of the pilot for Rings of Power before deciding that this crap is nowhere near Lord of the Rings levels of writing and quality and dropped it.

 

[Lukaku's First Touch]

Terminal List!

God damn that was a good show. Loved it!!

 

[Mr Reasonable]

They already spent $1 billion on Rings of Power as they ordered 4 seasons at once and the first season lost more than half it's audience by episode 3. Shows don't need astronomical budgets to be successful. Hell, the most watch shows are reality TV shows that cost all of a potato to make.

I think this is close to what I think.

Before streaming services came along en masse, shows were about a variety of things, there was light and shade.

Now it seems like most things being put out by streaming services are a Sci Fi dystopian nightmare, or a superhero battling to save the world, an alt timeline drama where the Nazi's won or an imagining of what a fully realised fantasy world would look like.

I get why these things are made, but it seems now that everyone wants to make the darkest, most dramatic, high concept show they can. There doesn't seem to be much room for other stuff that is both good and doesn't take itself too seriously (or I'm missing it).

It seems exhausting but also, slightly problematic because you often don't get what you were expecting.

We often watch the first few episodes of things and then run out of enthusiasm. They all seem to have great concepts, but I often think they'd make a great film, rather than 12 hours of tv, followed by another couple of seasons. Often the show starts with a great concept then a couple of episodes later becomes about character development and to do that you put the great concept to one side, seemingly never to return, because it turns out the show you tuned in to watch about the mystery of who is behind the biggest extra terrestrial cover up ever, ends up being quite a lot about an office romance, a bad relationship between a main character and their mother and the mundanity of government work. Not really what I thought I was getting. I might actually like that show, but maybe they need to scale back on the big ambition and focus on selling the characters rather than the world.

 

[jufonuk]

There are good shows on Prime:

The Boys
Marvelous Mss Maisel
Jack Reacher
Bosch
Jack Ryan
Terminal List
The Expanse
Man in the High Castle
Jeremy Clarkson's farming show

I agree on those plus the grand tour

But going forward ?!?

Updated my complaint to put in new.

 

[jason10mm]

. Often the show starts with a great concept then a couple of episodes later becomes about character development and to do that you put the great concept to one side, seemingly never to return, because it turns out the show you tuned in to watch about the mystery of who is behind the biggest extra terrestrial cover up ever, ends up being quite a lot about an office romance, a bad relationship between a main character and their mother and the mundanity of government work. Not really what I thought I was getting. I might actually like that show, but maybe they need to scale back on the big ambition and focus on selling the characters rather than the world.

Oh God, this. Sooooooo many "sci-fi" high concept shows ended up being little more than character tragedies. The writers didn't know how to properly drive a sci-fi show with smart characters nor how to resolve ANYTHING. It was all mystery box LOST bullshit.

I could list shows all day. Big actors. Big mystery in the trailer, numerous eps of folks just staring at the camera, slowly crumbling into grief, hunting that Emmy.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Oh God, this. Sooooooo many "sci-fi" high concept shows ended up being little more than character tragedies. The writers didn't know how to properly drive a sci-fi show with smart characters nor how to resolve ANYTHING. It was all mystery box LOST bullshit.

I could list shows all day. Big actors. Big mystery in the trailer, numerous eps of folks just staring at the camera, slowly crumbling into grief, hunting that Emmy.

I think it's honestly that those kinds of stories are probably unsustainable across 12, 24, 36 hours and that the people producing the shows don't want to do a self contained story that wraps up in a single series, just in case they get asked to make a few more. The epitomy, as you say, of the Lost approach.

Shows that have been self contained series but come back with related stories in the same universe work well, like Fargo or True Detective perhaps, but do it best when they're maintaining style rather than specific characters and callbacks.

The difference here is that the story is the driver, not the lead actor or their character or the potential for financial reward through creating a brand. I think the latter is what has ruined a lot of cinema now, by making every film a trilogy, or worse part of a universe, few things are as good as they could be if they put all their effort into making a great film, rather than something that serves a marketing ideal first and is hopefully a good film too.

 

[BlackTron]

The only thing I ever watched on prime was the first season of Jack Ryan which was REALLY good. Didn't like the way S2 was looking after a few eps and it go. Ever since all I do is listen to people make fun of shows like Rings of Power. Thanks for the tip to check out Jack Reacher guys I might not be done with amazon after all.

 

[AJUMP23]

He should ask them why they wanted to ruin Lord of the Rings.

 

[AJUMP23]

The only thing I ever watched on prime was the first season of Jack Ryan which was REALLY good. Didn't like the way S2 was looking after a few eps and it go. Ever since all I do is listen to people make fun of shows like Rings of Power. Thanks for the tip to check out Jack Reacher guys I might not be done with amazon after all.

You should also watch Clarkson's farm.

 

[DKehoe]

There are good shows on Prime:

The Boys
Marvelous Mss Maisel
Jack Reacher
Bosch
Jack Ryan
Terminal List
The Expanse
Man in the High Castle
Jeremy Clarkson's farming show

I've really enjoyed Tales From The Loop as well. Grounded sci-fi with this melancholy tone. It's sort of an anthology show in that the episodes are all stand-alone but it's all set in the same place and has characters crossing over into different episodes. Great soundtrack as well.

 

[hlm666]

no no no don't start tightening the purse strings just yet amazon, I need you to give the warhammer productions lord of the rings levels of cash and then keep your grubby nose out of anything else to do with them................

 

[JCK75]

Billions on the garbage rings of power.
Citadel is an entertaining show with cringe dialogue and an insane budget.

Overall though Prime has a lot of content I really enjoy.

 

[SlimySnake]

I think it might be time to spin this off as a new streaming service. i just dont want to pay for a shopping subscription.

 

[EverydayBeast]

I think people are expecting more and more from Amazon prime video, terminal list was better than Jack Ryan.

 

[Spyxos]

I think it might be time to spin this off as a new streaming service. i just dont want to pay for a shopping subscription.

Amazon Freevee is the free version of Prime Video, but there is less content in there and of course you have to watch a lot of commercials.

 

[Trilobit]

People complain about Netflix but unlike most other services it excels at getting really good new content. Amazon doesn’t have much outside of The Boys and Reacher.

The first season of The Patriot is excellent. Homecoming season 1 was also fresh and exciting.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I rather like most of the Amazon prime shows. Not all of them of course but lots of them are great and I would recommend them. Jack Ryan, jack reacher, man in the high Castle, etc. are all great. I actually didn’t mind Rings of Power either (till the end). Those prices though are staggering. I like Citadel so far (at episode 4) but I can’t see anything coming close to costing 250 million so far. That is bananas.