Streaming Wars: On January 29, 2024 Americans will begin seeing ads inserted into movies and TV shows they stream on Prime Video. (Canadians get nickel and dimed on February 5, 20240.)
“This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time,” said Prime Video to justify incorporating ads into movies and TV shows.
That comment doesn’t even make sense. According to Variety Prime spent $16.6 billion in 2022 on content. That’s up from $13 billion in 2021.
The 2022 monies were mostly spent on NFL’s Thursday Night Football and fantasy epic series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
I’m not saying Jeff Bezos or Amazon are rich; that type of stupidity surged when Bezos bought The Washington Post.
I’m questioning the value of the money spent…the lack of ROI for the viewers. And I don’t see how more money is gonna generate compelling TV. Amazon spent almost $17 billion and what did we get out of it?!
Charging for ads after spending $17 billion isn’t going to the mattresses nor does having a war chest like this help Prime Video defeat their streaming rivals. In the NBA teams will make big trades that include draft picks. Those draft picks are worthless if a team doesn’t have sound management, strong scouting, a bold understanding of their deficiencies and a relentless vision of the future.
I suspect that by charging for ads Prime Video isn’t a good NBA team. Their scouting sucks and this is their terrible solution. Figure out how to identify talent, how to develop talent…diversity is not a solution it’s sloppy. Be patient. It takes years for talent to flourish.
Have a distinct taste. Be a snob. Invest wisely with a specific strategy. Show me that and I’ll RSVP to the party as a consumer and as a viewer.
Sammy Verdict: Jerry Maguire Is Right…the answer was fewer clients and less money, giving more attention to them, caring for them, caring for ourselves.
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
