MUMBAI: Amazon’s streaming service Prime Video has announced that it invested more than £1 billion ($ 1.2 billion) in TV, movies, and live sport in the UK since 2018.
This includes spending on UK Amazon Original series like Clarkson’s Farm; licensed series like Soho Theatre Live and investment in movies like “Paddington 2”; co-productions on flagship British series like A Very English Scandal; as well as investment in live sport.
“It was important to bring people together at Prime Video Presents to not only showcase our brilliant upcoming shows and movies, but to demonstrate how committed we are to the U.K. in the long term,” explained Chris Bird, managing director Prime Video UK.
“We’ve spent a long time building a service that offers customers a variety of ways to access the TV shows and movies they love–either included as part of their subscription, as an add-on channel or being able to rent or buy at a low price. We have invested more than £1 billion on TV series, movies, and live sport since 2018. But it’s just as important that we’re investing in the U.K.’s world-leading production and creative industries, with a growing number of U.K. Originals; through a £10 million commitment to training and skills schemes; and by taking a long-term lease at Shepperton Studios,” he said as quoted in an international publication.
Prime Video also announced the creation of a new fund designed to support British women’s tennis. Prime Video will work with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to help girls and young women overcome barriers to play, with a focus on three key areas: coaching, equipment, and environment. The fund was generated from the broadcast share of last year’s US Open final. Further details will follow later in the year.
“When we committed to reinvesting the fees generated from the US Open final, it was important for us to take the time to fully understand the existing barriers that girls and young women face when playing tennis. We need to ensure that we are helping to foster the right environment in which girls can feel empowered to play and learn the sport. Our work with the LTA has helped us take huge strides in this area and this fund will directly tackle these barriers later this year” said Prime Video Europe managing director-Live Sport Alex Green.
Investment in new UK-produced Prime Video series
Prime Video’s investment in UK content continues with the announcement of new UK Originals, including “Fifteen-Love”, a scripted drama from UK producers World Productions, which is a part of ITV Studios. It explores the dangerous lines where personal and professional relationships collide, set amid the glamorous cut-and-thrust world of elite tennis. The story examines themes of power, sex, and ambition, within an international sporting industry worth over $2 billion.
Prime Video unveiled a raft of UK Amazon Original series, including two new true-crime series. The first, The Disappearance of Patricia Hall (working title) from ITN Productions, is the chilling, real-life story of the disappearance of Patricia Hall from a small town in Yorkshire and the subsequent investigation in which her husband, Keith Hall, appeared to admit to her murder before questions were raised about the reliability of his “confession.”
Three Mothers (working title) is a new three-part series from Scottish independent production company Firecrest Films. Set in the wild west days of the infancy of the internet, it tells the gripping real-life story of three women who all found themselves in the middle of an unbelievable series of events that captured the world’s attention. Director Alice McMahon-Major, producer Zehra Yas, and executive producers Nicole Kleeman and Vari Innes bring this powerful story, told through firsthand testimony, along with a wealth of extraordinary archive material spanning two continents and decades.
“Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes” sees the new England cricket captain discuss the highs and lows of his record-breaking career with Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes ‘1917’ in a new UK Amazon Original documentary. Produced by Whisper, the film tells the story of Stokes’ phenomenal career, examining his World Cup triumph and heroics at the Headingley crease, as well as the lows which saw him take time away from the game and came at a huge personal cost. The film’s crew captured Ben’s most personal and challenging moments, including the final visit to see his terminally ill father and his struggles with mental health. Ben explores this journey on-screen with cricket fanatic Mendes, who also executive produces the film. “Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes” will launch worldwide exclusively on Prime Video later this year, and the official trailer is also released today.
“We have supercharged Prime Video’s UK slate with a diverse range of high-quality, distinctive programmes across documentary, drama, comedy, entertainment, and film. It’s such a thrill seeing the slate grow in partnership with some of the UK’s most talented creatives, from first-time creators to legends of British television” said Amazon Studios head UK Originals Dan Grabiner.
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