This is the first Mipcom of Amazon MGM, the new company set up after the online titan bought the Hollywood studio, with a focus on distributing to third parties the Amazon originals + MGM catalog. This includes Theatrical, online platforms, especially free TV broadcasters, and other windows: FAST channels, etc. Amazon MGM is the first match of the two big worlds that reign in content and promise to guide the others. For sure, the future is with international distribution, not the recent exclusivity of the SVOD giants.
Chris Ottinger, head of worldwide distribution at Amazon MGM, says: ‘We are in a big challenge, it is difficult to match the windows, the different interests of platforms, producers and customers. But there is a great response in the market, especially from free TV broadcasters, who like very much that now they can access to SVOD top products. We started the sales at LA Screening last May with a group of Amazon originals, we’ve expanded it during the summer to 36 titles, and now at Mipcom we add 12 more, so we have 48 total. MGM catalog, on the other hand, has 4000 titles, among films and series’.
‘What are the differences between online and US Studio products? Mainly commercial tips: Amazon content has 18 months of exclusivity and will stay in its own platform for all the time, so we can’t make exclusive deals. MGM catalog, on the other hand, is available for any kind of deal. We want to move all the Amazon catalogs for distribution, but it is not easy, so we evolve progressively. We can sell Amazon titles to any customer if we respect the above windows and terms’.
‘The group is composed by Amazon Prime Video the platform, then MGM US and international distributor, and also Amazon Studios and MGM Studios, that will be one soon. Now we have both Amazon and MGM products, in the future our content will be generated with the same label and structure. What product do I like to stress especially? For sure Hotel Cocaine, made by the director of Narcos, takes place in Miami in the 70’s. It is a typical Premium Pay TV series, with drug dealers, sex, and violence’.
‘We are making focus also on new segments, such as FAST Channels. We expect to have by the end of 2023, about 20 FAST channels, that will be aired first in Freeve, Amazon’s sister platform, and then for anyone. We are making them with MGM products, and the opportunities are very varied because you can generate one channel per audience need. With just one title, a series or a film saga, you can already make a FAST channel’.
‘How the content market story will go on? I imagine that most of the big studios will do something similar, re-opening their distribution businesses to third parties. However, it is not the same for all, Netflix products usually have a lot of exposure due to their leading position, and there are studios that have been selling at all times, or don’t have all the rights… let’ see. I face a lot of potential for MGM Amazon distribution because we have high-end content that many people like to see but they haven’t done it yet. Windows management will be a more and more complicated issue for everyone’.
The slate at Mipcom 2023 includes in films: AIR, the story of rookie Michael Jordan and Nike, which changed the history of sports, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon; Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, Thirteen Lives, with Viggo Mortensen, which recounts the real rescue of Thai boys who become trapped in a cave; and Samaritan, a thriller with Sylvester Stallone. TV series offering provides Hotel Cocaine, Bosch: Legacy SeasonOne, a spin-off of Bosch; Billy the Kid Season Two, and Fargo Installment5. In entertainment, the Gladiators format.
