Amazon: we won’t share viewership data

Amazon will not follow Netflix’s lead in sharing viewership figures, a senior executive has revealed.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Los Angeles, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said that the company “doesn’t embrace” sharing viewer numbers.

The exec, who joined Amazon from NBC in 2018, said: “I came from the network business, as did all of us, where you’re used to being able to go out and talk about success in viewership numbers. Our company doesn’t embrace that strategy.

“We agree that it’s not a strategy for us. We know what the numbers are.”

Albert Cheng, Amazon’s co-head of TV and COO, added that the company does discuss performance with creators, despite not sharing figures with them: “We get together with them around a table and walk them through how it has performed.”

Salke went on to say that Amazon’s strategy with Prime Video is different to Netflix. While video is Netflix’s entire business, Salke described Prime Video as a ‘perk’ for its Prime subscribers, along with free delivery from its ecommerce platform, and that the company is focused on quality. 

She said:“We will curate shows to bring to that global, diverse audience. We’re not in the volume business. We’re in the curated business.”

Salke also promoted the success of Fleabag, a co-production with the BBC, and said that Amazon would be interested in another season of the show – which creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge had previously ruled out. 

“Nothing would make us happier than to have her bring another season of that show or anything else she wants to do,” Salke added.