Prime Video UK chief to exit

Prime Video UK’s chief Chris Bird is stepping down from the company after a decade and a half with the streamer. 

Staff were informed of the decision early this afternoon in a memo sent by Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, director of EU established countries, seen by Broadcast. He will exit the business this month and Ricou-Bellan said a search for a successor will begin shortly. 

Bird took up the UK leadership in 2021, appointed to the dedicated and newly created managing director role, having previously served as content chief of Prime Video Europe. 

He had previously joined Amazon when it integrated DVD mail rental business LoveFilm in 2010, having been part of the company since 2004. 

During his tenure, Amazon has cemented its place within the UK streaming market with landmark deals including last year’s acquisition of Lord of the Rings production hub Bray Film Studios and securing a package of UEFA Champion’s League football rights for the platform. 

In being at the forefront of ramping up Prime Video’s UK output, Bird has seen the streamer launch myriad titles including The Rig, The Devil’s Hour, Fear and hit reality format Clarkson’s Farm.  

He has been a vocal advocate for investment in UK skills and oversaw the transition of its apprenticeships initiative partnership to the National Film and Television School. 

His reports will now report into Ricou-Bellan, who said he had “played a large part in establishing Prime Video as the premier entertainment destination in the UK”.  

She added: “We’re very grateful to Chris for all his contribution to the Prime Video business and to Amazon, and we wish him the very best.”  

In a separate memo, Bird noted the through-line of the LoveFilm and Amazon businesses and how the former had “dreamed, one day, to make our own UK TV series”. 

“It is incredibly rewarding now to look back and see how we have stood by these principles, built a world-beating business, and served hundreds of millions of customers so well, with so much,” he added. 

“In 14 short years we’ve gone on to have one of the largest entertainment services in the UK, creating incredible local programming like Clarkson’s Farm, The Devil’s Hour and Last One Laughing, building out our studio infrastructure at Bray and Shepperton, and producing one of the biggest TV shows of all time, The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, right here in the UK.  

“I feel immensely proud of Prime Video’s achievements during this time, we were the first UK streamer to offer film, series and live sports programming as part of the Prime subscription, alongside buy and rent and add-on subscriptions all in one place.”  

He thanked Amazon MGM Studios content chiefs Jen Salke and Vernon Sanders and “all the UK programming teams” in his goodbye. 

“My time at Amazon has truly been a joy.  A roller coaster of learning, experimenting, risk-taking and boundary pushing,” he added. “To all the amazing staff I’ve worked with over the years – thank you so much for your brilliance, your patience with me, and your innovation, you’ve made me a better man.  

“And to the amazing managers and leaders I’ve had also…thank you for your guidance, support and encouragement, I wouldn’t be here without it.”