Amazon VP Of International Kelly Day Says Tech Giant’s Hefty Spending On Sports Is Not Depriving Budgets For Other Programming

deadline.com:

Amazon has been throwing its weight around in sports of late, signing multi-billion-dollar rights deals with the NFL and the NBA as lures for advertisers on Prime Video.

Kelly Day, VP of International at the tech giant, says it’s a misconception to think that those hefty bets are siphoning resources away from film and TV originals.

Sports are “irreplaceable” and a “core” element to the overall programming strategy, Day affirmed during a keynote session at NATPE in Miami.

At the same time, “we are continuing to ramp up spend” on original films and series. A recent SEC filing from the company suggests as much, indicating that total 2024 spending on TV, movies and music increased 14% over 2023 levels, reaching $18.9 billion. “There have been things written about, ‘Oh, we must be cutting here to put money there.’ That’s just, you know …” Day said, trailing off and letting her I’m-so-over-this facial expression make the rest of her point. “We don’t share details about those things, and there’s always more under the covers than what people see. … It is part of this dynamic of trying to get the right mix of global originals, international originals.