Tyler Perry Secures 4-Picture Streaming Deal With Amazon Studios

Atlanta media mogul Tyler Perry is taking his talents over to Amazon Studios with its more than 240 countries and territories worldwide where Prime Video streams. This deal will see Perry write, direct and produce four features for release on Amazon’s platform. With the streaming video on demand (SVoD) user penetration at 15.2% in 2022 and expected to hit 20.6% by 2027, just how important will Perry’s content be for Amazon to pull ahead in the streaming race?

The Breakdown You Need To Know:

CultureBanx noted the company seems to be heavily leaning into Black creators’ culture cachet to draw users in. Perry’s pact is the latest one Amazon has forged with top Black talent, including Eddie Murphy, Michael B. Jordan, Jordan Peele, Issa Rae and Donald Glover, just to name a few. For these creators streaming provides very lucrative opportunities with revenue in the Video Streaming segment projected to reach $80.8B in 2022.

“I’m looking forward to continuing telling unique stories and bringing my next projects to the global audiences that they reach,” Perry said in a statement announcing the deal.

Discourse regarding the state of streaming platforms has been abundant, as the race for content and content creators remains heated. Perry’s last three films — “A Jazzman’s Blues,” “A Madea Homecoming” and “A Fall from Grace”— were released by NetflixNFLX
.

Cultural Streaming Wars:

Streaming leader Netflix already has a deep roster of major Black content creators on their team from the Obamas, to Shonda Rhimes and even Kenya Barrish, just to name a few. Also, Netflix is spending more than $17 billion on original content this year. Amazon shelled out around $13 billion on TV shows, movies, and music content in 2021.

It makes perfect sense for all of these platforms to be inking deals with Black creators. Take a look at traditional TV viewership, Nielsen found shows with a predominantly Black cast or a main storyline focused on a Black character are drawing substantial non-Black viewership.

Streaming services which have a much broader reach than traditional TV have a lot to gain by betting on Black content. Cowen analysts wrote that Netflix’s investment in high quality episodic content across all genres and feature films likely ensures the company will retain the top spot in the living room over time, in their view. Amazon could clearly dethrone them through this new deal with Perry.

Situational Awareness:

Tyler Perry’s deal with BET+, while a seemingly natural combination, pays Perry $150 million per year plus a 25% equity stake in the Viacom-owned streaming platform in a deal that runs through 2024. Yet and still, with Perry’s present deal coming to an end he has found greener pastures at Amazon Studios, with a larger audience base than BET+’s 1.5 million subscribers.