Amazon’s Prime Video and IMDb TV have partnered with Universal Filmed Entertainment Group to sign Hollywood’s latest blockbuster streaming deal, Deadline is reporting. Under the agreement, Prime Video will have an exclusive pay-one window for Universal’s slate of live-action films in the U.S. The deal will begin with the studio’s 2022 theatrical release slate.
The partnership marks the first exclusive U.S. pay rights deal Prime Video has signed with a major movie studio. The streaming platform’s deal with UFEG comes after it entered into exclusive pay-window pacts with smaller studios in the US, including A24.
The news comes after it was recently announced that NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service will exclusively stream UFEG’s 2022 films, beginning 120 days after their theatrical release, for four months. Peacock will also stream the movies during the last four months of a title’s 18-month pay-one window.
Prime Video will exclusively stream Universal’s 2022 and future live-action films during the middle ten month period of that 18-month window. Prime Video is also acquiring the rights to multiple movies in UFEG’s library.
Under the agreement, Prime Video will stream such upcoming Universal films as as Jurassic World: Dominion, The 355 and Ambulance. The deal, whose exact length is not currently being disclosed, also includes movies from Focus Features and Blumhouse.
It’s likely that UFEG’s animated films, which are currently streaming on Netflix, will remain on that platform during the ten months of the 18-month window when they’re not on Peacock. Prime Video will gain SVOD rights to UFEG’s animated movies through a subsequent window.
IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming service, has secured an exclusive network window for films from Universal’s 2020-2021 theatrical slate, as well as a package of animated titles. The movies include Dolittle, The Invisible Man, F9, Illumination’s Sing 2 and Despicable Me 2, DWA’s How to Train Your Dragon 2, and Shrek 2. The deal makes IMDb TV the first AVOD service to secure a television window for major studio films.
“We know Prime members love movies and this new deal with UFEG will deliver some of the best films available for our customers,” said Brad Beale, Prime Video’s VP of worldwide content licensing. “This new slate of UFEG films…will continue to build upon Prime Video’s catalog and delight Prime members, all at no additional cost to their membership.”
“Recognizing that all parties would benefit from a modernized windowing structure, this new agreement allows Prime Video and IMDb TV to benefit from UFEG’s vast library and diverse content like never before,” said Peter Levinsohn, vice chairman and chief distribution officer, UFEG. “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.”
“This significant deal with UFEG is another step forward in solidifying IMDb TV’s reputation as a premium free destination for blockbuster movies,” said Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi, co-heads of content and programming at IMDb TV. “Expanding our library with prominent UFEG titles from every genre, IMDb TV continues to deliver on our promise to provide viewers the content they crave with something for everyone.”