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Original Comedies Coming from Amazon Studios: Your Feedback Decides Which Pilots Are Greenlit

12.22.12 @ 1:01PM Tags : amazon, amazonstudios, amazonvod

It’s clear that industry leaders in web-based media are taking original content very seriously — even Netflix, traditionally a home to separately created content, has rolled up its sleeves and proactively produced its own series. Now, another VOD/rental giant has decided to personally fund and cultivate original media — Amazon Studios has just announced its Instant Video component will be the home to six upcoming comedy pilots. The pilots will be helmed by everything from Emmy-winners and to up-and-comers — perhaps most importantly, they will be free to watch by anyone on Amazon Instant Video, and it will be viewer feedback that determines which of the series are greenlit and permitted to move forward. More »

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The Tenuous Future, Mediocre Design, and Negligible Payouts of Netflix

09.26.11 @ 2:26PM Tags : amazonvod, instantwatcher, netflix, onlinevideo, streaming, vod

For its future as a streaming only service, Netflix is reliant on deals with content owners, a situation which has the service being described aptly as a castle on quicksand. As evidence of its constantly-changing library, Netflix recently lost Starz content but today added Dreamworks Animation films to their library. However, Amazon also doubled their Prime library today (which at $79/year — including an unlimited free two-day shipping tie-in — compares favorably to Netflix’s $96 annual fee). Competition is heating up, but I can’t help but note one other thing about Netflix: the design of their website and most of their apps is, and always has been, mediocre at best. Which is to say nothing of the connection between the service’s benefit to consumers and its detriment to content creators. More »