Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 This is in addition to the 500 laid off at Twitch. This pretty much confirms that Prime Video is absolutely bleeding money. The reality is that unless your name is "Netflix", the streaming industry is complete and total money pit. Amazon to Lay Off ‘Several Hundred’ Across Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios, 500 Cut at Twitch VARIETY.COM Amazon is laying off "several hundred" employees at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Quote Amazon is laying off “several hundred” employees at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Additionally, 500 employees — or 35% of the workforce — are being let go at Amazon-owned livestream platform Twitch. “This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly,” the company’s entertainment chief Mike Hopkins wrote in an email to staff Wednesday. “It is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians who’ve made meaningful contributions on behalf of our customers, team and business. Thank you for your dedication and work. To help with the transition, we are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional benefits as applicable by country, and external job placement support.” Hopkins says Amazon will begin informing colleagues who are impacted by the studio layoffs Wednesday morning, and all staff in the Americas affected by the cuts will be notified this morning and in “most other regions by the end of the week.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Amazon Layoffs: MGM+, MGM Scripted TV & Unscripted Consolidated; Nancy Cotton, Arturo Interian, Chris Castallo & Uri Fleming Among Those Let Go DEADLINE.COM Nancy Cotton, Arturo Interian, Chris Castallo and Uri Fleming are among those let go after Amazon revealed several hundred layoffs across entertainment. Quote Details have emerged about the cuts, which were described by one source close to the company as a “bloodbath”. Execs let go include Nancy Cotton, Arturo Interian, Marcy Kaplan, Chris Castallo and Uri Fleming across different divisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Amazon Prime is a unique situation though. I think most people only have it for the free shipping. Any other thing they add is a bonus. They really needed to have a separate subscription service for the streaming videos and maybe it could have fared better (although still give it to normal prime users for free of course.) Also, it was at it's best when it had HBO shows but of course that was ruined by Max wanting their own thing. (and then now some of those shows are going to Netflix (band of brothers, the pacific)) EDIT: On top of all that it also has one of the worst interfaces out there. Finding actual prime videos is a nightmare because they mix the search results with things you can buy. So it's a confusing mess. It feels like an EGS thing where they expect people to show up but don't put any effort into making it a consumer friendly experience. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatoneshere Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Man, the amount of layoffs around multiple certain industries the past 1.5 years is getting catastrophic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 54 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: They really needed to have a separate subscription service for the streaming videos and maybe it could have fared better (although still give it to normal prime users for free of course.) It certainly wouldn't hurt financially to have that option available at the very least. I just get the feeling that Amazon bet far too heavily on the "geek" demographic for its offerings (Wheel of Time/Lord of the Rings/Fallout/Warhammer) relative to capturing a broader audience. Let's face it - you really can't get much more niche/limited mass audience appeal than freakin' Warhammer and in order to do that IP any justice (i.e., not make it look absolutely laughable), they're going to have to spend a ludicrous amount of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 20 hours ago, Bacon said: Happy new year! Get the fuck out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 40 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: It certainly wouldn't hurt financially to have that option available at the very least. I just get the feeling that Amazon bet far too heavily on the "geek" demographic for its offerings (Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Warhammer) relative to capturing a broader audience. Let's face it - you really can't get much more niche/limited mass audience appeal than freakin' Warhammer and in order to do that IP any justice (i.e., not make it look absolutely laughable), they're going to have to spend a ludicrous amount of money. They need more live sports. I've said before Netflix should get hockey, maybe Amazon should get hockey instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneticBlueprint Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Adding commercials and laying off people? Really cool. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nokra Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I didn't know this was an option until now, but apparently you can pay monthly ($14.99) for Prime. I'm currently paying $22.99 per month just for Netflix in order to have 4K video. Even the "basic" plan without ads is $15.49. All this to say that you do get a hell of a lot of value for Prime vs. Netflix, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 1 hour ago, Nokra said: I didn't know this was an option until now, but apparently you can pay monthly ($14.99) for Prime. I'm currently paying $22.99 per month just for Netflix in order to have 4K video. Even the "basic" plan without ads is $15.49. All this to say that you do get a hell of a lot of value for Prime vs. Netflix, for example. Technically it is cheaper if you pay for the annual subscription ($11 a month) but digging even deeper seems like they do have a video only plan ($8.99), just no one knows about it. https://us.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G34EUPKVMYFW8N2U 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzzzle Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 The way they measure success is so fucking... weird. Like, take the Rings of Power. They would measure success based on 1) how many people watched the show, 2) how many people who watched the show were new subscribers, and 3) how many people unsubscribed after watching If EVERYONE who watched the show was already subscribed and it didn't bring in any new subscribers, then the show is considered a failure, even if 100 million people watched it. If 70% of the people who watched the show unsubscribed after watching, it is also considered a failure, since Amazon's streaming content is basically meant to be an advertisement for Amazon Prime. If it doesn't funnel people into the part of the business that actually makes money, it failed. It's such a wildly speculative and reckless business model. Like, at least Netflix isn't using their streaming service to sell their other services, so it's a little bit less nebulous, but even they are like "if it doesn't bring in NEW people, then it's worthless." capitalism, babyyyyy. If you're not growing, you're dying. Sustainability is never an option. edit: 100 million people DID watch Rings of Power, it turns out. If that came out as a movie, it would have grossed over a billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 3 hours ago, Nokra said: All this to say that you do get a hell of a lot of value for Prime vs. Netflix, for example. Also, value seeming very subjective in this case. On Netflix there always seems to be something to watch but if you want to see the Treat Williams classic Night of the Sharks or Frogs then Amazon Prime is the place to be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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