NEW YORK — Amazon’s Streaming Partners Program, an initiative launched last year for the company’s popular Prime service, has been a hit with consumers and content partners that are filling it with specialized SVOD-OTT services as the offering nears its first year on the market.
“The demand has been incredible,” Michael Paull, VP of digital video at Amazon, said in a keynote conversation Thursday at the Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable On Demand conference. “It’s been a great year.”
Amazon launched the program in December 2015, offering easy access to a wide range of SVOD services from partners such as Showtime, Starz and Seeso (from NBCU) that is available on top of Amazon Prime. Paull said 75 partners are now on board with the program, which handles key elements such as billing, customer care and the streaming platform that underpins the delivery to a wide range of devices and platforms.
When Amazon approached programmers and other content suppliers about joining the program, Paull said, the initial conversations were sensitive because they were concerned about how the offering would respect their brands.
“We have leaned into their brands,” he said, noting that a partner’s brand is front and center when Amazon Prime users search for an SVOD offering or an individual show that’s offered therein.
