AMZN
Amazon opening up the checkbook to become a key counterweight to Netflix
- Headlines around Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) this weekend are shedding
some light on the company's efforts to rise above a hot pack of rivals in
the streaming industry, all chasing leader Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) - and
to become one of the finalists to join a new streaming oligarchy.
- Jeff Bezos' final shareholder letter as Amazon's CEO revealed that the
company's Amazon Prime subscription service has hit 200M members - and
that
means along with free 2-day shipping and other perks, those members have
access to Amazon's now-extensive Prime Video offering.
- And while it's not clear just how many Prime subscribers are tuning in
for that library, the new Prime sub figures makes Prime Video more
comparable in user base to Netflix (which crossed the 200M-sub mark last
year).
- Discussions about spending on streaming content have tended to focus
on 500-pound gorilla Netflix - leading to common jokes that the service
was
green-lighting any show pitched to it.
- But Amazon is revealing the depth of its pockets as well. Along with
its annual report came the news that it spent $11B on video and music
content in 2020 - up 41% from spending of $7.8B the year prior.
- (For cost basis, total capitalized cost of that music and video
content for 2020 was $6.8B, up 17% year-over-year.)
- On a cash basis, Netflix spent $11.8B on streaming video content in
2020 - slightly down from 2019's $13.9B due to COVID-19 production
delays.
- And we now know that Amazon is planning a staggering outlay for what
will essentially become the biggest television series ever made: *The
Lord of the Rings,* filming now in New Zealand, will cost about $465M
for just one season.
- Contrast that with HBO's (NYSE:T)*Game of Thrones,* considered quite
expensive at $100M per season, as well as Disney's (NYSE:DIS) The
Mandalorian at about $15M/episode - and also with previous estimates that
figured *Lord of the Rings* might cost Amazon $500M to get multiple
seasons (along with $250M for the rights from J.R.R. Tolkien's estate).
|Yesterday, 6:31 PM|52 Comments
Amazon opening up the checkbook to become a key counterweight to Netflix
- Headlines around Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) this weekend are shedding
some light on the company's efforts to rise above a hot pack of rivals in
the streaming industry, all chasing leader Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) - and
to become one of the finalists to join a new streaming oligarchy.
- Jeff Bezos' final shareholder letter as Amazon's CEO revealed that the
company's Amazon Prime subscription service has hit 200M members - and
that
means along with free 2-day shipping and other perks, those members have
access to Amazon's now-extensive Prime Video offering.
- And while it's not clear just how many Prime subscribers are tuning in
for that library, the new Prime sub figures makes Prime Video more
comparable in user base to Netflix (which crossed the 200M-sub mark last
year).
- Discussions about spending on streaming content have tended to focus
on 500-pound gorilla Netflix - leading to common jokes that the service
was
green-lighting any show pitched to it.
- But Amazon is revealing the depth of its pockets as well. Along with
its annual report came the news that it spent $11B on video and music
content in 2020 - up 41% from spending of $7.8B the year prior.
- (For cost basis, total capitalized cost of that music and video
content for 2020 was $6.8B, up 17% year-over-year.)
- On a cash basis, Netflix spent $11.8B on streaming video content in
2020 - slightly down from 2019's $13.9B due to COVID-19 production
delays.
- And we now know that Amazon is planning a staggering outlay for what
will essentially become the biggest television series ever made: *The
Lord of the Rings,* filming now in New Zealand, will cost about $465M
for just one season.
- Contrast that with HBO's (NYSE:T)*Game of Thrones,* considered quite
expensive at $100M per season, as well as Disney's (NYSE:DIS) The
Mandalorian at about $15M/episode - and also with previous estimates that
figured *Lord of the Rings* might cost Amazon $500M to get multiple
seasons (along with $250M for the rights from J.R.R. Tolkien's estate).
|Yesterday, 6:31 PM|52 Comments
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