Streamer open to models that would see it sharing first window with domestic partner
Prime Video is open to sharing exclusivity on its UK commissions, as pragmatism reigns supreme in a cost-conscious market.
The Amazon-owned streamer has become known for its flexibility in deal-making over recent years, with the company’s European teams increasingly open to sharing first-window rights.
That has not yet been replicated in the UK, but Prime Video’s head of TV licensing in the country, Hannah Blyth, said such deals were of interest.
“In Spain, my counterparts share first windows with their local players but in the UK we haven’t done that as it is quite a mature market, so there’s more overlap in viewership and everyone wants that exclusivity,” she said.
But Blyth, whose upcoming slate includes psychological thriller Fear and crime series Kill Jackie with Catherine Zeta Jones, added that combining resources on co-exclusives, including on marketing, is a strategy she is keen to explore.
“We’ve seen the model work in European territories [where they’re] growing an audience for a show, rather than dividing it in half, which was the fear.
“You need joint marketing, especially if viewers are seeing the same release date with different services, so you have to think it through. We would be very open to it in the UK, although it is not something we have done much of yet.”
Blyth also pointed to international co-production opportunities as an area of focus, adding that US deals outside of the Amazon universe could be struck.
“I would co-produce with a US partner that doesn’t have to be Prime Video – in the same way that the BBC has done co-pros on The English, for example, with Prime Video.”
Blyth added that while Amazon’s UK streaming platform had “not done so much of that first and second windowing”, it is seen as “a big growth area, with everyone becoming a lot more flexible and open to it because they are seeing that the value continues, as it has with movies”.
The exec, who was speaking at Mip London, was joined by SkyShowtime’s content chief Kai Finke. He agreed that co-exclusivity represents a “real opportunity for the right shows”.
The former Netflix exec, whose service offers titles ranging from Yellowstone and Star Trek to Day of The Jackal, added: “It depends where in the life cycle that your show is - it can really help for returning shows, that can be a real opportunity.”
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