It has been a big few months for Prime Video in this market. We reported that earlier this month the streaming platform owned by Amazon appointed Hwei Loke as the new head of the platform across Australia and New Zealand.
Not long before that, the platform introduced an ad tier, automatically flipping customers to that tier unless they paid more.
During an interview at SXSW, Mediaweek asked Loke about what the ad tier means for Prime.
“That change enables us to continue to invest in compelling and quality local regional content and to increase that investment over time.
“We introduced ads in June to our consumers, but we have meaningfully fewer ads than any other streaming service and linear platform.”
Hwei Loke. Above: Loke with Prime talent at SXSW
Being a Prime Video subscriber means more than just the streaming product. “We have other customers who engage in the shopping benefits of Prime, but also we have free Amazon shipping, Prime Reading, Prime Music, Prime Gaming. So as a holistic offering, people are really seeing the value in that.”
As Loke indicated, the extra income from the ad tier keeps the local content pipeline flowing.
When asked about the content that has been resonating best with Prime customers, Loke said: “What we know is that what consumers want is relatable content. They want content that reflects their diverse backgrounds and cultures.
“For myself, growing up in Australia as an Asian Australian, I never saw anybody who looked like me on screens. We are committed to bringing stories of what people look like, of their individual stories, to the screen. That’s what they are coming to us for.”
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
Biggest ANZ Original so far at Prime
“Last year, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, not just in Australia, but globally, this was our biggest local original to date.
“It went top five in over 78 countries globally. In Australia, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and Deadloch were the top ACTA-awarded drama series last year.
“People love the escapism of Deadloch. To escape into that Tasmanian noir world. We’ve seen the series achieve 100% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. It managed to rank top five in 175 countries globally.
Deadloch: Kate Box, Kate McLennan, Kate McCarthy and Madeleine Sami.
“In our unscripted slate last year, we told the story of The Wiggles in Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles.
“We also had a documentary called The Defenders, which won Best Australian Documentary at Sydney Film Festival. Again, such a gripping documentary about a Bahraini football player who was detained in Thailand and tortured, essentially.
“Craig Foster, the Australian former soccer player, deep-dived into this case and advocated for him. These are the type of stories that we don’t shy away from. We’re excited to bring these kinds of stories to Australians.
“This year has been great for us in terms of local originals already. We had a series called Dance Live, a movie called Five Blind Dates, and the series The Test, which returned for season three.”
Hwei Loke was speaking to Mediaweek on the eve of the release of a local version of The Office.
In addition to the launch of The Office, Prime released updates for the slate of local originals.
“We have a series called The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which is a series based on the Booker Award-winning novel of the same name. It’s a five-part series, which is going to be really dramatic, compelling, intense, starring Jacob Elordi. Later in the year we will release Top End Bub, which is a series based on the movie Top End Wedding, which released in 2019.
“The series will star Miranda Tapsall with an incredibly strong cast. Right now we’re filming Deadloch season two in Queensland. People can finally stop asking me when season two is coming because it is coming.”
The Office Australia: Felicity Ward
People who have previewed The Office have noted how edgy it is. Some translate that as it being “risky”.
“It’s out there,” laughed Loke. “The Office has such fantastic fans behind it already from the UK and US series. We know fans are passionate about it. We have taken a risk with it, but we’re so incredibly proud of this series.
“It has the same situational office humour that people know from the franchise. But it has a beautifully fresh Australian take on it, and not only from a brilliant cast of characters, headed up by Hannah Howard, played by Felicity Ward.
“As a new female leader [at Prime], I hope I can learn what not to do from her.”
What do Prime customers want: The content or the shopping?
As to the single biggest reason as to why people subscribe, Loke replied: “We get a mix. What’s great about it is that people come in for the shopping and then see what the streaming offer is, and then vice versa as well.”
Loke said it’s a good time to be a consumer because of choice.
“There are so many different places to find things. It can get confusing as to what content is on what platform. And we aim to take that stress out for a consumer.
“We’re consumer obsessed, at the end of the day for us, it is about presenting a proposition that takes the stress out of streaming and has Prime as your go-to entertainment destination.
“A customer can come onto Prime Video and stream all of our free series, movies, live sport, unscripted, scripted, everything. But you can also rent or buy new releases that sometimes are still in the theatres. And aggregate, add on other subscriptions to the platform, it is all one seamless experience.”
All the content goes through the Prime Video app and customers can toggle subscriptions off and on.
Global success is good, but Australia is the focus
About the importance of global success with Prime Australian commissions, Loke said: “Audiences globally are really interested to see Australian stories.
“They’re captivating. Our talent is captivating. We’re very proud, honestly, to have our content do well globally.
“My focus, however, and our team’s focus is the Australian consumer. As long as we are surprising, and delighting our Australian audience, I’m happy.”
As to making decision about Australian Originals, Loke noted: We’ve got a great local content team that works out of Australia and is supported from a global perspective by our US counterparts.
“Our local team are constantly looking at new deals, pitches, things on the table, measuring up what our consumers want, balancing it with what they’re watching, balancing it with the US slate that we have. And it’s a juggle of presenting the consumers with what they are after within the realms of the rights that are available.”
Do Aussies have different tastes from rest of the world?
“There are a lot of similarities between the US market. When I look at consumers, the core thing I always take away is that they just want to be entertained and they just want something that’s relatable, but also an escape from their own world.”