Series Mania: Amazon Prime Video taking cautious line on content spending

James Farrell

Amazon Prime Video’s head of international operations James Farrell used a keynote at Series Mania in Lille to explain  that the streamer is being mindful with its spending budget amidst the ongoing political conflict across the world.

During his keynote speech at the Series Mania Festival, Farrell pointed out “there are wars happening and political situations are tough right now, that means you got to be thoughtful about what you spend.”

He explained the streamer are looking to make more sustainable changes regarding production and budget.

“If you can make a great movie that is shot in 20 locations instead of 30, or reduce the episodes on the scripted show from eight to six to save some money, let’s do that. Let’s be responsible and thoughtful of the good corporate stewards.”

The exec also shared Amazon’s strategy for international programming going forward, with the streamer aiming to develop international shows with a budget of $1 million per episode.

“The local teams are also very willing to work on rights sharing, especially on scripted TV. Scripted TV is more expensive than the other programming, it’s more critical for brands so as I’ve been thinking about it and talking to more people about it.”

Farrell pushed for international co-productions to help manage those higher budgets where shows can be broadcasted across multiple platforms describing it as “a smart business for everybody involved.”