Amazon to License Original Content Like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to Other Streaming Services

The new Amazon MGM Studios Distribution unit, a revamp of MGM’s existing distribution team, will now handle Amazon Studios projects as well.

Written by Rahul Chettiyar, Edited by Ali Pardiwala | Updated: 10 May 2023 11:47 IST

Amazon to License Original Content Like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to Other Streaming Services

Photo Credit: Amazon Prime Video

Rachel Brosnahan in a still from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Highlights

Chris Ottinger, who led MGM’s distribution, will oversee the new division
The initiative kicks off at LA Screening, later in May
The movies and shows could be sold as cable TV, SVOD, and AVOD content

Amazon Originals series and content such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Hunters, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm will be sold off to other streaming platforms and third-party media. The company confirmed the news with the launch of its new unit Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, a revamp of the existing MGM distribution team, which will now handle Amazon Studios projects as well. Chris Ottinger, who led the team for over a decade, will oversee the new division while continuing to sell MGM's catalogue including properties like James Bond, Rocky, and Creed.

“Pioneering the distribution of Amazon Originals for Amazon Studios is an exciting opportunity to bring fresh, never-before available quality content to audiences around the globe,” Ottinger said in a press release (via Variety). “In doing so, we will break through the current sales mould by creating custom packages that will fulfil our client's individual content needs.” The initiative is slated to kick off later this month at LA Screenings (international TV market), where the shows and movies will be potentially sold as free and basic cable TV, in addition to AVOD (ad-supported) and SVOD (subscription-based) content. The idea is to expand Amazon Prime Video content and generate more revenue by adding it to MGM's existing distribution setup.

Last year, Amazon acquired MGM for $8.5 billion (about Rs. 69,727 crore) to boost its Prime Video streaming service with over 4,000 new film titles and 17,000 TV episodes. As per Variety, Ottinger is also planning to shop some of Amazon's ‘off-platform offerings' as fresh, first-run content since some of the shows like 2016's Goliath never reached large audiences. “It's a great drama. I think most of the international audience probably hasn't seen it. Amazon wasn't that broadly distributed at that point,” he said in a prepared statement. Titles that were never measured via box office success or the Nielsen ratings in the US will still pose an issue when it comes to determining their ‘value' — when being sold off.

Back in January, Warner Bros. made a similar move by striking deals with Roku and Tubi, marking a big turnaround for Warner Bros. Discovery's portfolio, which was previously exclusive to HBO Max. The ad-supported channels brought Westworld onto the said third-party streaming platforms. The aforementioned Amazon MGM Studios Distribution announcement came in the wake of the ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood, which has brought several film and TV series productions to a halt. Residual payments for streaming content have been lower than those of broadcast TV — a big talking point in the strike. With Amazon's move towards syndication, we could possibly see a direct effect on writers' pay soon.

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 1

Release Date 17 March 2017
Genre Comedy, Drama
Cast
Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Michael Zegen, Marin Hinkle, Tony Shalhoub, Matilda Szydagis, Kevin Pollak, Caroline Aaron, Jane Lynch
Director
Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino, Scott Ellis,
Producer
Dhana Gilbert, Matthew Shapiro, Salvatore Carino, Sheila Lawrence

Hunters Season 1

Release Date 21 February 2020
Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast
Logan Lerman, Al Pacino, Jerrika Hinton, Lena Olin, Saul Rubinek, Carol Kane, Josh Radnor, Greg Austin, Tiffany Boone, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Louis Ozawa, Kate Mulvany, Dylan Baker
Director
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Wayne Yip, Nelson McCormick, Dennie Gordon, Millicent Shelton, Michael Uppendahl
Producer
Tom Lesinski, David Ellender, Jenna Santoianni, Win Rosenfeld, Nelson McCormick, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, David Weil, Nikki Toscano, Jordan Peele, David J. Rosen

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Further reading: amazon, amazon prime video, amazon mgm, amazon mgm studios distribution, the marvelous mrs maisel, hunters, borat, amazon studios, chris ottinger, hollywood, amazon originals