Amazon has launched ad-based streaming service IMDb TV in the U.K. with a selection of original and licensed content.
IMDb TV — a spin-off from the entertainment industry database IMDb — launched almost three years ago in the U.S. in order to provide a free, ad-supported viewing model. The brand’s international debut is marked by the U.K. launch. It will initially be accessible via a carousel through Amazon Prime Video. In the coming weeks, an app standalone on Fire TV will also be available. Amazon Prime membership is not necessary.
“Free streaming services are not unique, especially in the U.K., where there’s several broadcaster options [such as BBC iPlayer and Channel 4’s All4],” Ryan Pirozzi, co-head of content and programming at IMDb TV alongside Lauren Anderson, told Variety. “I think what is unique about us is ambitious, premium original series from Amazon Studios inside a free service: that is much more unique. “
“You might see some overlap in licensed content [with Prime Video], but the selection will be unique and bespoke because we’re obsessing over U.K. customers,” added Pirozzi. “So we’ll tailor our selection to our customers in the U.K.”
In the U.S., IMDb TV offers classic films and TV alongside original U.S. content, such as “Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary” and “Moment of Truth,” produced by Amazon Studios exclusively for the service. Pirozzi said these will be available for British customers from launch but the overall catalogue available in the U.K. will be smaller, including fan favorites such as “Pulp Fiction” and “2 Broke Girls.”
“The same way we launched in the U.S. with Prime Video or IMDb TV, it’s a small ‘getting started’ selection so we can learn from customers,” he added. Pirozzi indicated that the content offered is smaller than Prime Video. “I would say it’s curated with a different lens in mind. It’s curated with a lens of customers.” Particularly customers who don’t want to subscribe to Prime but don’t mind watching adverts.
What does IMDbTV differ from Amazon Prime Video and IMDb TV?
IMDbTV is the modern version of a network. [It has] IMDb TV offers the same innovative storytelling and personal experience as basic cable, but with the appeal of broadcast channels. We think IMDb TV is complementary to Prime Video, so if you look at the customers that are enjoying IMDb TV, they’re Prime customers who want more selection and are happy to watch ads to get it, and customers that, for one reason or another, don’t want to be behind the paywall.
What is IMDb TV’s brand?
It’s certainly broadly appealing. We want the content to be the kind of content that people might expect to be behind a paywall, and we want to delight customers that it’s actually free with ads. If you look at some of the content that’s going to be available at launch — ‘Moment of Truth,’ a true crime docuseries; ‘Top Class,’ another docuseries that follows elite high school athletes in the U.S. — you’ll see the broad breadth of content that we have. Then we add licensed content. These include blockbuster movies and TV shows that are highly-coveted. So, it’s a general entertainment service.
Who is IMDb TV’s customer?
I think we’re excited to learn about our customers that respond to IMDb TV — it’s still day one for us. I view it as those groups of customers that I was describing in the U.S.: Prime customers looking for more selection and finding stuff maybe they can’t find anywhere else. And customers for one reason or another that don’t want to be behind the paywall.
What was the most difficult aspect of launching IMDbTV TV?
It is difficult to stand out in a market where there are so many choices. What will make customers happy? We ask ourselves what will be the most memorable and make IMDbTV TV stand out from all the other options? And so we really focus on a selection that is bespoke for customers in the territory, in this case, the U.K. That’s why we obsess so much about our slate of original programming, why we obsess over which content we’re licensing, which movies we seek, which licensed television fan favorites we seek, and we obsess over local customers.
Will customers download Prime Video and the IMDbTV app?
We want customers to have a choice of what they do with the selections, but we also want them to be able to interact with it in a way that suits their preferences. Sometimes people want to be part of a specific experience. They want to know that everything is free from ads. I prefer to interact with the content that way. It just comes from a vision of ‘Let’s give customers choice in how they experience our content,’ but again, you don’t have to download both those apps.
Can audiences expect to see some U.K. IMDb TV original content, similar to what is available in the U.S. in the future?
Well, it’s still day one, as we like to say, and we’re not announcing anything today. But as you’ve seen in our other territories, including the U.K., we typically launch with licensed content and content in the U.S., learn from customers and then launch [original content].
What we’ve done with IMDb TV is create this hybrid with original content from Amazon Studios combined with licensed blockbuster hits and popular TV. What you’re not going to see yet is U.K. [original] productions. That’s not part of our launch plan but again, it’s just day one.