How Much Does it Cost to Hook You Up on Amazon Prime

By expanding its product range with the implementation of a video on demand platform, Amazon managed to bring some added value to their premium membership model known as Amazon Prime. Since the very beginning of Amazon Video, the e-commerce colossus tried to ramp up subscription numbers by offering in-house productions exclusively available on their video on demand platform.

This infographic based on internal company documents released by Reuters reveals the costs of luring customers into an Amazon Prime subscription with their Prime exclusive shows. Whilst the automotive show The Grand Tour’s first season came with production and marketing costs of some 78 million US dollars, it is considered to be the most effective Prime Original content in terms of making users subscribe to Amazon’s premium model. By dividing the total expenses of a show through the number of people who streamed the respective show as their first choice after subscribing to Prime, Amazon can determine the contents effectiveness at luring additional subscribers.

Based on analysts’ estimates, Prime Original series account for roughly a quarter of all Prime sign-ups between late 2014 and early 2017. According to Amazon’s calculus, these subscribers eventually convert into happy shoppers after discovering the convenience of free next day delivery and other special offers for Prime members.