Amazon Prime signs multiyear licensing deal with Comcast's Universal

Amazon Prime signs multiyear licensing deal with Comcast's Universal

Its Amazon’s first exclusive rights arrangement in the US with a major movie studio

Amazon Prime

New Delhi: Starting 2022, Universal Pictures’ new live action films will first debut on Comcast's OTT platform Peacock after their theatrical releases, and then land exclusively on Amazon Prime Video four months later.

The arrangement is part of a multiyear deal that Amazon has signed with Comcast’s Universal Pictures and Peacock, and applies to all live-action films including Jurassic World: Dominion that are scheduled to be released in theatres in 2022.

The deal is part of the company's plan to change the traditional home entertainment release pattern. Generally, new movies go to a cable channel or streaming service about six months or more after they debut in cinemas. These films remain with the outlet for an 18-month window, which is referred to as the ‘Pay-One Window’.

Under the new arrangement, Universal will send its films to streaming quicker and will break up the 18-month period. So, new movies will go to Peacock four months after their theatrical debut, and four months later, these films will be available on Amazon Prime Video for ten months and then back to Peacock for four months, it said in a statement.

“We’re thrilled to team up with Amazon to deliver our titles to its customers. This agreement further delivers on our distribution strategy to monetize our unparalleled movie library across multiple services, while offering customers the most choice, control and flexibility in how, when and where they watch films,” said UEFG, vice chairman and chief distribution officer, Peter Levinsohn in a statement.

As the streaming war rages on, media companies are trying new strategies to bolster their streaming services and challenge the domination of streaming giant Netflix, which currently boasts of 208 million subscribers.