A good narrative (fact-based, complex, evolving) helps you see important things you otherwise have missed. A bad narrative makes you miss things you otherwise would have seen.
The coverage of streaming has been a case in point. Reporters and pundits, usually NYC based and with little knowledge of the entertainment industry, have credulously bought into a story of hype and Silicon Valley disruptors. (Journalists from traditional TV towns like LA and Chicago have done a much better job.) The really important business aspects have been underplayed or missed entirely.
For example, the standard Netflix-driven narrative argues that ad-based models are hopelessly old economy, not something forward looking people would waste their time with. As a result, what has turned out to be perhaps the fastest growing and most profitable part of the television industry has largely been ignored.
With the exception of Netflix, all of the other major players now have some ad revenue in their models either through streaming and/or broadcast. Amazon's ad-based division is IMDBtv. The service started a couple of years ago and, while we don't have access to the numbers, Amazon apparently likes what it has been seeing because the company's investment has grown considerably.
Original Programming
A reboot of the 2008 crime drama series Leverage was ordered by IMDb TV, making it the first major original series for the streaming service.
On October 3, 2019, IMDb TV announced it licensed the Canadian animated series Corner Gas Animated as a branded original series, joining the live-action comedy franchise Corner Gas and the feature film Corner Gas: The Movie, which were both on the streaming platform.
IMDb TV acquired the rights to Eleventh Hour Films and Sony Pictures Television's young-adult espionage series Alex Rider, which will be premiering on the streaming platform on November 13, 2020.
On October 29, 2020, Amazon announced Amazon Studios would produce the successor program to Judge Judy for the service after the long-running court show ends production in 2021.
Third-Party Content
IMDb TV announced it would begin streaming the NBC show Chicago Fire on December 6, 2019, making the deal the biggest single licensing pact to date for the streaming service. In addition, IMDb TV announced it would also begin streaming all five seasons of Universal Television's Friday Night Lights starting on December 31, 2019.
In February 2020, IMDb TV acquired the rights to more than twenty scripted TV titles controlled by Disney's Direct-to-Consumer & International Division.
IMDB TV began streaming several Star Trek films in June and July 2020.
Starting July 15, 2020, IMDb TV began streaming all 92-episodes of the AMC series Mad Men after completing a licensing deal with Lionsgate.
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