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Joe Lewis, a television executive at Amazon, lies on his stomach on a rumpled bed. Jill Soloway, the Emmy-nominated writer and director, sits next to him, stroking the back of his head. The two stare at a pair of monitors watching the filming of a scene in the next room from their new dark comedy about a family in which the father comes out as transgender.
"What Amazon has been able to do is create something almost like an indie studio from the 1970s," Soloway said.
That vibe is a far cry from Amazon's initial foray into television production, a tech-oriented approach driven by data analysis. Soloway's new show, Transparent, is one of four new series that Amazon will unveil in the coming months as the company tries to find the right balance between art and algorithms. After an underwhelming start, it has increased its gamble on creating its own shows to draw new customers to its Prime subscription service.
Amazon's push comes during a glut of new programming and fierce competition for viewers. The traditional broadcast and cable networks continue to ramp up their investment in programming, while other insurgents like Netflix and Hulu are trying to distinguish their services by pouring more money into creating new shows.
Known for its retailing prowess, Amazon turned heads when it entered the cozy, relationship-driven world of Hollywood four years ago. Rather than hiring established talent, it started a studios group to develop feature films and television series based on online submissions. It later started a unique programme, posting TV pilots to the web and analysing viewer data and feedback to determine which shows to give the green light.
Last year, the first slate of those much-hyped original productions appeared on its Prime Instant Video streaming service, and failed to make much of a splash. The shows' debuts garnered little attention or critical acclaim, especially compared with the notice and strong reviews for Netflix's House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. So far, only one - the Washington-meets-frat-house comedy Alpha House - has been renewed for a second season.
Rather than retreat, Amazon is pressing its video bet and conscientiously adding more artistic nuance to its science of programming. The company recently named Judith McGrath, the former chief executive of MTV Networks, to its board and announced plans to invest $100 million into original content in the third quarter of 2014. (Hollywood executives said that Amazon previously seemed less willing to pay up for programming than other media groups, especially compared with its rival Netflix, which reportedly spent about $100 million for two seasons of House of Cards.)
Usually secretive about its business strategy, Amazon is parading studio executives and talent before the press to build buzz.
"It's not like you can come in on Tuesday and the computer says: 'Doot, doot, doot. Here are the shows you are going to do,' " Roy Price, head of Amazon Studios, recently told a room full of television critics. "It's not The Barefoot Executive, " he added, referencing the 1971 film about a pet chimpanzee named Raffles who predicts the popularity of television programs. "You have to use some judgment as well."
The company is still learning the ropes, though. Last month, it rankled some critics when it failed to provide release dates for its new shows and viewer numbers for past ones. Many critics and viewers complained about not knowing how to find the programs on Amazon's site.
Like Netflix, Amazon does not release audience figures for its programmes or subscriber counts for its Prime service. A recent report from the research firm Park Associates revealed that Amazon made steady gains in the United States streaming video market in the last two years. About 20 per cent of all homes with broadband connections now have a subscription to Amazon's Prime service, an average annual growth rate of about 55 per cent since 2012. (In comparison, Netflix service subscriptions grew an average of 16 per cent per year during the same period.)
Amazon has said that an increasing number of Prime members are streaming more free content, and that those customers ultimately buy more products across the site. In addition to free two-day shipping, the $99 Prime annual membership includes streaming access to a library of movies and television shows from networks including Time Warner's HBO, as well as more than a million songs.
In an interview, Price said that Amazon was happy with its initial foray into original programming. The self-described Hollywood emigre turned tech executive - he holds seven United States patents - predicted that in 10 years people were likely to watch a stream of personalised videos rather than one-size-fits-all traditional broadcasts. "Often things change more than people expect them to change," he said.
To that end, Price said Amazon did not need its original series to become blockbuster hits, but rather to inspire passion and prove meaningful to groups of people. He listed Transparent as an example of the type of programming that Amazon was pursuing, with a distinct tone, novelistic storytelling approach and cinematic quality. Soloway, the show's creator, is known for her work on the HBO series Six Feet Under, the Showtime series United States of Tara and the film Afternoon Delight.
All told, the company has released two shows for adults and three for children, and has announced that it is producing full series from six other pilots. Projects to be released in the coming months include the science fiction drama The After from the X-Files creator Chris Carter; Bosch, based on Michael Connelly's best-selling book series; and Mozart in the Jungle, about behind-the-scenes drama at a New York symphony.
While Amazon has taken the tactic of producing its own series, it has not ruled out the strategy of picking up exclusive rights to series produced by traditional studios, a model deployed by Netflix and others.
Most of the projects currently in the pipeline are the works of established Hollywood talent. Notably absent from the line-up of originals are online submissions from amateurs. (Amazon said that a coming children's pilot was discovered through an online submission.)
Many of these established creators said that they had not considered Amazon as an outlet until an agent made the suggestion. "I am a Luddite," said Eric Overmyer, the co-writer and executive producer for Bosch, who has worked on series including The Wire and Law & Order. "I don't know how to get my computer on my TV."
Ultimately, several writers and directors said they were lured by the opportunity to explore a new frontier of digital and video storytelling that broke free of television standards. It also helped that Amazon paid competitive rates, they said.
The creators also said that despite their employer's algorithm-driven image, they were going with their creative gut. Producers said that they did not look at the comments posted next to the episodes by viewers or the audience data on with the pilots.
"Nobody has ever come to me with any kind of data gleaned from an algorithm as a direction for this show," Carter said. "I am sure they are mining all kinds of data, but my job is to be a good storyteller."
©2014 The New York Times News Service
THE ART OF REVAMPINGAs the traditional broadcast and cable networks continue to ramp up their investment in programming, while other insurgents like Netflix and Hulu are trying to distinguish their services by pouring more money into creating new shows, Amazon is trying to find the right balance between art and algorithms. Here's how.
- The company will unveil four new series including Jill Soloway's Transparent in the coming months
- Amazon has increased its gamble on creating its own shows to draw new customers to its Prime subscription service
- Rather than retreat, Amazon is pressing its video bet and conscientiously adding more artistic nuance to its science of programming
- The company recently named Judith McGrath, former CEO of MTV Networks, to its board and announced plans to invest $100 mn into original content in the third quarter of 2014
- Amazon is parading studio executives and talent before the press to build buzz
- About 20% of all homes with broadband connections now have a subscription to Amazon's Prime service, an average annual growth rate of about 55% since 2012
- While Amazon has taken the tactic of producing its own series, it has not ruled out the strategy of picking up exclusive rights to series produced by traditional studios, a model deployed by Netflix and others
