Prime Video UK managing director Chris Bird said “There’s never been a better time to go public” when asked about the saturation of streaming services available to consumers.
“The breadth and selection of available content has never been more pronounced,” he said. “Everything is always available. I think the future is all about reach and convenience. Services that can offer that are sustainable.”
Bird also pointed out how Amazon’s strategy encompassed all types of distribution, saying that through the company’s purchase of MGM, they were funding movies like “Creed III” that will be available in theaters before the movie goes to Prime Video on a subscription basis and finally AVOD. “At some point ‘Creed III’ will be available for free, most likely as ad-supported,” said Bird.
Bird, who sits on the UK’s Creative Industries Council, added the importance of continuing to invest in skills and diversity. “We’re in the golden age of film and TV production in the UK, we’ve never done better,” he said.
Bird spoke on a panel on streaming at the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms conference in London, alongside Roku UK Director Richard Halton, DAZN CCO Marc Watson and Sophie Jones, CSO and Interim CEO of the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) .
Watson was equally optimistic about streamer saturation, saying, “We’re still a long way from equilibrium, from a business standpoint, you’re going to see a lot of changes over the next few years.”
Read on for some other highlights from the discussion:
Marc Watson, DAZN
“Our view of the future of sport is that it will become increasingly global, just like other forms of entertainment.”
“Our ambition is to be a very large global player in the sports space.”
Richard Halton, Roke UK
“The problem Roku solves in the UK is a completely different problem” [to the U.S.]. The UK is fortunate to be blessed with an extraordinary availability of fully funded and ad-funded content.”
“Connected TVs are becoming ubiquitous”
Sophie Jones, BPI (British music industry)
“One in 10 songs streamed worldwide is by a British artist.”
“Streaming is phenomenal value for money and for the price of a subscription compared to what the price of a CD was, it’s phenomenal.”
Chris Bird, Prime Video UK
“We want to make Prime so valuable to customers that it would be financially irresponsible not to have it.”
[Asked if the price is going to rise] “We’re working as hard as we can to make sure we minimize any cost increases.”