Streaming services are having a very exciting week, and Amazon (NASDAQ:$AMZN) is once again making moves, as the company closed things off with a game-changing announcement, signing Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, and his production company, Skybound Entertainment, to a significant deal.
Historically, AMC (NYSE:$AMC) and Skybound have always maintained a strong working relationship. Kirkman signed an overall deal with AMC two years ago that made the network home to any upcoming projects including both Walking Dead TV shows. Outcast, another show created by Kirkman, was exempted from the deal, however, as Cinemax already locked the property down. Although its ratings have fallen in the past year, The Walking Dead still remains as one of the most popular shows on television. For AMC, an overall deal was the only way to hold onto one of its most profitable streams of revenue.
This shift in distribution means that Amazon now has first say to any other projects that the company comes out with. While this means incredible opportunity for Amazon to develop on its Prime Video streaming services, it also benefits Skybound, due to the company’s focus on digital strategies. Under the guidance of David Alpert, Skybound has also initiated efforts on Youtube Red programming. Notably, the team has launched Delusion and Capture, which are virtual reality and app-driven film projects respectively.
Simply put, Amazon’s breadth of products and services better facilitate the goals of Skybound than the resources of AMC.
When Disney announced it would pull all of its content from Netflix and pursue its own streaming service in 2019, and Netflix acquiring Mark Millar’s production company, Amazon’s penetration into the streaming market adds more noise. In one signing, Amazon Prime Video has poised itself as a nominal competitor, as it’s now the exclusive hub for future shows produced by Skybound Entertainment.
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