Not sure I would put Amazon in with the others while it is not verifiable it looks like the vast majority of Amazon Prime subscribers do so for the shopping and not for the Video content. For me personally, it's just a perk and not the main attraction and so am not bothered by the content of their shows as I am with Disney+ and Netflix. The same with AT&T offering free HBO for the fiber network connection and I am not bothered that its been 4 months since I checked out what HBO has to offer. I am sure these companies do pay attention to who and how many view their shows and adjust things accordingly but as to it effecting Amazon's bottom line putting out a show that flops will only impact the show and those involved with it.
I might be speaking from a rather unique position here when it comes to Amazon streaming. I do have access to Prime, but I only benefit from the Digital content, and even that is limited to what's available on German prime. I do not have access to one day shipping, free prime shipping or any of the physical benefits. To me, Prime is like any other media streaming subscription, but I know I'm in the minority here. SO yeah it won't affect them the same way as it would affect Netflix or other Streaming services, but with such a huge name and such a huge budget as well, it might make some ripples if it fails. I don't mean with Amazon the online shop, but with their content creation side.
I subbed for the latest TGT and some other content from those guys like Clarksons Farm, and later found The Boys (it's so fun, especially when I see how 'muricans think that it's woke/anti-woke and they start arguing about it. It's both, you are all idiots!! that's the point!!) and the Terminal List (good drama, mid/decent action). I'll be unsubbing until the next TGT or Farm drops, cos the content is very very limited here, it's basically a few very odd modern Russian made war movies with Ru audio and German subs, some German war movies, some random German shows, and some Amazon original content I don't care about. Oh and ofc they got some classic shows that Netflix has as well like Friends. Nothing I care to watch. I watched a season of the Tick as background noise and watched Invincible, but both got boring real fast. That's it, the complete list of content I find watchable on Amazon. As you can see, it isn't very long.
I subbed because a certain franchise moved to Amazon, and for nothing else. Before that, I just had to sail to get my content (thanks BBC), but with Amazon I had the convenience of doing it easily and legally. I won't re-sub for LOTR, I watched and read the original trilogy and that's enough for me. I got better things to do with my time. This led me to believe others might do the same and sub for Rings of Powaaah, and if they found it bad, they would leave and not re-sub.
I don't pay for any other streaming services except for Netflix, I do pay the highest rate cos I share with my extended family. TLDR is, they got Hungarian dubs now, and not having to play tech support for the family is something you can't put a price on, but Netflix managed to do so, and it's low enough that I'm willing to pay for it despite some of their content.
@ the rest of the crowd here regarding the politics which we tried to dance around so nicely:
FFS, you made me do this again, its like 6+ pages:
But I'll try to condense it down:
D+ is doing great. I'm guessing that is in part cos it's the only source for Marvel and SW, and in no small part cos of kids shows.
Disney stock isn't doing super great overall because they don't see Endgame levels of God money coming in anymore, yet they keep spending like crazy on new shows and movies and expectations are still too high. They also got carried away by the illusion that filming on the led screen sets is oh so cheap and as it turns out it isn't, but that's a topic for another time.
I do get the daily movements as a notification every day, and it's nothing to jump at but not bad either.
Politicking, if
@Montoya permits:
Get woke go broke does exist, but I don't see it being the thing with the entertainment industry giants (with small fish yes, for example CW went bankrupt) , no matter how many times someone tells me that it's happening. The real world numbers tell me something that I experienced myself: no one gives a shit! People just want their entertainment served and they will eat it up. End of. No one cares what happens afterwards!
Youtubers praising and hating and analyzing and explaining, reddit threads, twitter spats, corporations attacking fans, fans attacking actors... it's all just background noise to the masses which they can't even hear over all the other noise generated by facebook posts and friends and family and all the other sources from where they get influenced by.
These pundits or critics or creators, regardless of political leaning, don't create change, they are not originators of anything, they are just more things for you to enjoy and interact with, their own tiny little bubbles in which you can belong, all living in their own little worlds, and Do Not represent the big picture by any means. It's all just part of the entertainment. More things to consume.
Your average consumer won't have the interest to dive deep into 3 guys' 40+ minute video about a movie they just watched, just like they won't read a 5 page essay on why they are a bad person if they don't watch that particularly politicized episode of a certain show. It's just not a thing.
It's called entertainment, and escapism, the whole point is that you escape all the mundane bullshit surrounding it, and people do actually do that! They watch a movie when they feel like it, or don't if they don't feel like it! Not when The Mouse says on twitter that they must or else they are a natzee, not when Cracklord "Felon" StreetShitter (AKA Nerdrotic) says on youtube that they shouldn't cos it breaks the lore, and oh it's woke as shit!
It makes no difference. People recognize the name LOTR, and they will watch it. Just like how they watched Obi on D+ despite it being dumb and boring and lore breaking at best, and woke garbage at worst.
The numbers in the end tell it all, according to all my favorite so called movie critics, Marvel should have gone bankrupt 5 minutes after Endgame stopped screening, yet they made money on ALL movies they released since then. It's the power of franchise.
Change is coming, superhero movies are starting to fail, it's inevitable, but it's not what you think. I bet that you guys are old enough to remember when all that was released was Westerns, and then Cop/Detective movies, then Action movies... those times come and gone as well. Those movies were called politicized, badly written, anti this good thing, pro that bad thing, and so on. They still made money, and then they didn't. Same things happening again. You can blame it on get woke go broke, I wish it was true and viewers realized they are being fed more and more twisted moralities and bad lessons, but I simply blame it on ppl just being bored of them. I'm willing to bet you a large case of cheap Polish lager that I'm right.
End of politics.
Question, how will it actually affect Amazon if Rangs bombs? How will we know? As
@Bambooza pointed out, the majority of subscribers are probably already subbed for shopping reasons. I don't really expect an exoduse en masse if it turns out to be a bad show for whatever reason. Theoretically they could just pull a GoT season8 at the last episode of season 1 of Rings, it doesn't even have to be a political reason why it flops.
How will they make money on it if the vast majority of the audience is already subbed? Merch sold on Amazon?
