Amazon Studios Is Committed to Local Productions and “Really Curated” Content Slate, Finds MGM Deal “Hugely Exciting,” Head of European Originals Says
Amazon Studios remains committed to local original productions as its audiences are demanding them in addition to popular U.S. programming, but will never be about targeting pure content volume, but a “slow and steady, very curated approach,” Georgia Brown, head of European originals at Amazon Studios, told a television industry gathering in Scotland on Wednesday.
Her comments at the Edinburgh TV Festival came after Warner Bros. Discovery shared a change of strategy for its streaming business in Europe on July 4, saying that it would be “ceasing our original programming efforts for HBO Max in the Nordics and Central Europe” and had already ended “our nascent development activities in the newer territories of Netherlands and Turkey, which had commenced over the past year.” The decision came following the merger that created the new industry powerhouse and amid its “work on combining HBO Max and Discovery+.”
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“We have always had a very different strategy” than rivals, Brown said in her appearance, noting head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke’s focus on a “really curated” slate.
Brown on Wednesday highlighted the expansion of the Amazon Studios European team to around 250 staff over the past year, including in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, to add new production hubs. “All our audiences were crying out for local content” when the company launched its streaming services globally in 2016, even though they also love popular U.S. content, she said. “Our strategy in that sense hasn’t shifted and won’t shift,” Brown emphasized.
Asked about the takeover of MGM, she said: “The buzz among the executives on the ground is hugely exciting.” But Brown noted that she had few additional details to share about the acquisition of the studio. “I am not across that” and busy enough with her duties, she explained.
About Amazon Studios’ general approach to content, she highlighted: “We are able to be super-curated and really think about the content we are commissioning.” And she added: “We want to commission a multitude of different genres.” Overall, she said Amazon is currently open to all sorts of ideas and genres given it is at an “experimental stage still.”
Quizzed about her focus on dramas versus unscripted fare and other genres, Brown shared that when she started her job in 2017, she felt that while everyone was focused on high-end dramas, “the big opportunity in streaming was unscripted,” which “has worked so well for us.” The next key phase for the company will be about learning what works in drama, with Amazon rolling out more dramas in Europe in the next six to 12 months. “If anyone knows, please let me know,” she quipped.
Since 2018, Amazon has spent more than £1 billion ($1.18 billion) on TV, films and sports content in the U.K., and the global streamer’s programming strategy has focused, among other things, on diversifying its slate. That has included an expanded slate of non-English-language, locally sourced programming.
Do many Amazon shows or formats travel to various markets? “There are certain shows we see more travel ability in,” Brown explained. For example, “LOL: Last One Laughing has been a … hit for us,” which has launched and succeeded in various markets, from Germany to Mexico. The format pits comedians competing to not laugh and be eliminated, but become the last one laughing.
Questioned about a recent increase in subscription prices for Amazon’s streamer despite rising inflation, Brown said she couldn’t say too much about such business decisions beyond highlighting it was the first increase in years. She added that the company’s goal was providing “maximum value” to customers and that she felt they were generally happy with what they are getting from the firm.
Asked about how Amazon assesses viewership and reception of content, she said “every show has a different benchmark,” other than traditional TV networks. Brown explained that sometimes the actual reaction, the desire to try out a genre or type of programming and other factors can all play into decisions.
Discussing upcoming originals she is particularly excited about, Brown mentioned an adaptation of German author Wolfgang Holbein’s The Gryphon, about three outsiders who discover the Black Tower, a world where the Griffin, a monster, has abused other denizens of the world for centuries. She also mentioned an upcoming Spanish sci-fi movie Awareness, about a rebel teen able to project mental images into the minds of other people.
After Brown, members of her team took to the Edinburgh stage on Wednesday, namely Dan Grabiner, head of originals at Amazon Studios, Johnny Lewsley, U.K. scripted originals lead, Daisy Mount, development executive for U.K. scripted originals, Fozia Khan, development executive lead across unscripted, and unscripted executive Harjeet Chhokar.
Amazon on Wednesday also unveiled two new U.K. original documentary series, The Greatest Show Never Made and Fake Sheikh. Both will launch on Prime Video in 2023.
The Greatest Show Never Made reveals “how, on a wet morning in June 2002, four cameras filmed 30 contestants who had travelled to a park in South East London, to take part in the biggest reality show on TV,” according to a show description. ”The show is going to change their lives – and it is all captured on camera. They have quit their jobs and given up their homes to be here. Some have left long-term partners and sold their possessions; all want to escape the 9-5 grind, and start on the road to adventure, fame and fortune. It’s the new millennium and anything is possible. Just one small thing…the show does not exist.”
Fake Sheikh tells “the thrilling story of maverick reporter Mazher Mahmood, whose exposés generated headlines by his use of false identities to ensnare royals, sports stars, politicians, celebrities and members of the public,” Amazon said. The three-part series follows his rise, downfall and imprisonment.
In March, Amazon closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. “With the talent at MGM and the talent at Amazon Studios, we can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st century,” Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had said after the deal was announced. MGM’s library includes more than 4,000 film titles and 17,000 TV episodes, including intellectual property like the Rocky/Creed franchise, The Silence of the Lambs, Thelma & Louise, and TV shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Survivor. It also includes MGM’s stake (shared with Eon Productions) in the James Bond franchise.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke and senior vp Mike Hopkins have been searching for a senior movie studio executive. Amazon Studios has held conversations with such Hollywood leaders as Netflix film head Scott Stuber and former Paramount Pictures executive Emma Watts, according to the report.
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