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Amazon Prime Video has landed in 242 countries around the globe. Current Prime members will be able to watch hundreds of shows and films produced by top networks, Hollywood studios, and Amazon itself, at no additional cost in Belgium, Canada, France, India, Italy and Spain (though notably, if unsurprisingly, not China).
In new Prime Video territories, the service will be available at $2.99 (or 2.99 euros) a month for the first six months, before increasing to its full price of $5.99 a month.
As one might expect, Prime Video comes with a degree of multilingual support. Content is available in its default English language, with French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish subtitled and dubbed versions available for many titles. Amazon is reportedly taking a hyper-local strategyto international expansion, hiring local staff and investing in original content that caters to tastes and preferences of the home country.
Prime Video’s global launch has deep implications on the TV and streaming industry. Of course, Netflix finds itself faced against a fearsome foe. It could also quicken the demise of traditional pay-TV in emerging economies. Other subscription video on-demand (SVOD) players will have wavering hopes knowing that they now need to follow in Netflix and Amazon’s footsteps. However, looking inward at Amazon’s prospects, Prime Video buttresses the company’s growth in multiple ways:
Prime Video is competitively priced at the start. Prime Video’s $2.99 a month charge for the first six months is substantially below Netflix's $8-$10 a month median price range. But once those six months are up, Prime Video's $5.99 pricing gets into the same range as Netflix’s least expensive subscription packages.
Entertainment’s potential as a fourth pillar. Amazon’s three big pillars are its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud division, Marketplace e-commerce platform, and Prime subscription tier. Jeff Bezos, the company CEO, has stated that his company is pursuing a fourth pillar, and Prime Video could pan out to be just that.
But Prime Video’s centrality isn’t clear yet. There’s still uncertainty around Amazon’s intent to focus on content within its overarching business strategy. The company might be aiming to build Prime Video into a profitable fourth pillar, or perhaps it sees entertainment as a loss leader to accelerate subscriptions and reinforce Prime.
For now, Prime Video will support the core. Amazon is probably taking a wait-and-see approach on whether entertainment is a viable fourth pillar. If and until this happens, Prime Video will be serve as support for Amazon’s aforementioned core businesses, particularly to market the potency of AWS, and to drive Prime and Marketplace sales.
Over the last few years, there’s been much talk about the “death of TV.” However, television is not dying so much as it's evolving: extending beyond the traditional television screen and broadening to include programming from new sources accessed in new ways.
It's strikingly evident that more consumers are shifting their media time away from live TV, while opting for services that allow them to watch what they want, when they want. Indeed, we are seeing a migration toward original digital video such as YouTube Originals, SVOD services such as Netflix, and live streaming on social platforms.
However, not all is lost for legacy media companies. Amid this rapidly shifting TV landscape, traditional media companies are making moves across a number of different fronts — trying out new distribution channels, creating new types of programming aimed at a mobile-first audience, and partnering with innovate digital media companies. In addition, cable providers have begun offering alternatives for consumers who may no longer be willing to pay for a full TV package.
Dylan Mortensen, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, has compiled a detailed report on the future of TV that looks at how TV viewer, subscriber, and advertising trends are shifting, and where and what audiences are watching as they turn away from traditional TV.
Here are some key points from the report:
Increased competition from digital services like Netflix and Hulu as well as new hardware to access content are shifting consumers' attention away from live TV programming.
Across the board, the numbers for live TV are bad. US adults are watching traditional TV on average 18 minutes fewer per day versus two years ago, a drop of 6%. In keeping with this, cable subscriptions are down, and TV ad revenue is stagnant.
People are consuming more media content than ever before, but how they're doing so is changing. Half of US TV households now subscribe to SVOD services, like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, and viewing of original digital video content is on the rise.
Legacy TV companies are recognizing these shifts and beginning to pivot their business models to keep pace with the changes. They are launching branded apps and sites to move their programming beyond the TV glass, distributing on social platforms to reach massive, young audiences, and forming partnerships with digital media brands to create new content.
The TV ad industry is also taking a cue from digital. Programmatic TV ad buying represented just 4% (or $2.5 billion) of US TV ad budgets in 2015 but is expected to grow to 17% ($10 billion) by 2019. Meanwhile, networks are also developing branded TV content, similar to publishers' push into sponsored content.
In full, the report:
Outlines the shift in consumer viewing habits, specifically the younger generation.
Explores the rise of subscription streaming services and the importance of original digital video content.
Breaks down ways in which legacy media companies are shifting their content and advertising strategies.
And Discusses new technology that will more effectively measure audiences across screens and platforms.
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