Amazon Plans to Slow down on Pilots and Increase Straight-to-Series Orders

Matt Lopez
Aug 25, 2017 · 2 min read

Amazon plans to slow down on pilots and increase output of straight-to-series orders. Amazon Studios VP Roy Price announced the news today at the Edinburgh Intl. Television Festival.

“The reality,” Price said, is that pilots “sort of slow you down… It’s another 10 months. Between sitting at a table saying that’s an amazing idea for a TV show and having a TV show on the air, it’s normally 12–18 months. But with a pilot it’s two years.”

The marketplace is “competitive and often you just have to go to series, both from a timing point of view and from a competitive point of view… We still have customer feedback, but will probably have fewer pilots for sure,” he added.

Recently, the streaming service announced a straight-to-series order of “Hanna,” based on the 2011 movie, from NBCUniversal International Studios, and fantasy drama “Carnival Row,” which Price confirmed will star Orlando Bloom.

Price also referenced HBO’s “Game of Thrones” when talking about the likelihood of bigger budget shows. “Game of Thrones” has changed the equation, he said, describing it as the “Jaws” of the television world. “Bigger world, bigger budgets — that’s something that I would anticipate throughout the marketplace,” Price said.

Price also hinted at the strong possibility of an increase in sports related content on the platform,

“People love sports, it’s big, it’s engaging, it really motivates people, so I think that’s a good opportunity, Price said. He did not confirm that it would be a key part of the strategy, however. “I think it’s definitely an opportunity we’ll explore.”

In general, “I think you can expect bigger shows,” he explained. “Whether it’s sport or unscripted or scripted television, it’s going to be ambitious, and there’s going to be a lot of great stuff to choose from.”

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