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Tyler Bern – Head of content for Amazon Prime Video (Australia, New Zealand, and Canada)
Tyler’s role is to curate a VOD service - particularly for Australia. His team localizes the service – looking at what Australians want to watch. |
This can be content:
- Commissioned originals
- Licensed Content (TV & features)
- Live sports
They have 15 – 20 people on the ground in Sydney to support
Prime video (Content marking & PR)
The team in LA, however, deals with the content – commission
originals & working on licensed content.
What are the factors driving Amazon’s decision when
commissioning local originals for this market?
To build a slate that appeals to the most amount of people – which means particular shows targeted at particular customer segments.
When looking at future commissions, they are very focused on what they’ve commissioned before – how customers have reacted to it.
Is there a certain scale that's required for an Amazon
show?
There isn’t. They commission smaller shows (The Moth Effect) as well as big ones like ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Heart’.
Are cast and attachments necessary at the pitching stage?
A big director certainly helps – but isn’t a prerequisite.
Most of the Australian originals have been greenlit with a production company and a writer.
When you're thinking about cast you just never know whether it's going to resonate – unless it’s one of a couple of names that are ‘top tier’.
What’s the first thing that Tyler looks at in a pitch or
pitch document?
Amazon has a higher barrier to entry compared to broadcast TV – as users are paying for the service. So they are trying to figure out which projects are going to get their customers past that pay wall. It’s about building an emotional connection with people. They are trying to commission projects that are ‘must-have’ .. buzzy and generating conversation. Something that when you see the trailer you know you have to watch that show.
The ‘Peach on Demand Initiative’
This initiative was created to give streamers like Amazon the opportunity to consider gaps in their slate and provide a specific brief to Australian producers.
They are looking for projects that are shot and set in Australia.
Three briefs:
- Scripted TV
- Unscripted TV
- Feature Film
Scripted TV
Amazon recognise that they have a gap here - their development slate’s a little light. It’s hard to pin down what they want. One example is the YA show ‘Sex Education’. It’s creative, buzzworthy and has an emotional connection.
Amazon is really looking for is for the show creators to understand who they are making their show for. Who is the audience? Why do you think this audience will watch the show? If this is a show that 18-25 year old females will come to Prime Video to watch the show, then that is fine – their doesn’t need to be a wide age range (or male audience). They are aware that trying to broaden the appeal can water down the appeal for the original customer segment.
Unscripted TV
Lux Listing Sydney was an enormous success both in Australia and globally – they are making a Season Two.
This comes back to buzzword, conversation driving TV shows. They want to lean more into guilty pleasure – it doesn’t have to just be real-estate. But it really need to make you watch it and make you talk about it.
Feature Films
Amazon is a 'bit behind' in their development pipeline – they’ve been developing TV projects now for 3 years but only started developing features of the past year.
A thriller and comedy would be the two that they’d like to focus on but they are also open to rom-com and action.
