Amazon CEO Andy Jassy “Very Optimistic About What’s Possible” In Entertainment

Following its MGM purchase, Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy anticipates a continued ramp-up of investment in entertainment as Prime Video content proves highly successful in spurring signups of Amazon Prime.

The biggest investment so far is its recently closed $8.45 billion acquisition of the studio behind James Bond and Rocky. “I think it’s still pretty early days for us in entertainment. We’ve invested a lot of money there and a lot of resources there, and I think you should expect we will continue to do so. We are very optimistic about what’s possible,” Jassy said on CNBC.

He was circumspect when asked about today’s business bombshell, Elon Musk’s hostile bid for Twitter. “I don’t know. I woke up and heard the news. It’s interesting. We all use Twitter obviously to some degree. It will be interesting to see how it evolves.” Asked if Amazon may want to move into social media with its own bid, he said, “It sounds like someone else is going to own Twitter.” So does he thinks Musk will indeed end up owning Twitter? “I don’t know. That’s the rumor. That’s what you guys are all talking about.”

Jassy’s remarks on the cable network followed a letter to shareholders posted today where he devoted a big chunk of space to Prime Video, including a brief history of the service from its 2006 launch with about 1,000 studio films available to download, to early streaming, to its first original productions Alpha House and Betas, to Transparent, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, Bosch, Jack Ryan and Reacher. He gave a shoutout to the new Lord of the Rings series that debuts on Labor Day and the fall launch of Thursday Night Football as part of an 11-year deal with the NFL.

“We have more invention in front of us in the next 15 years than the last 15 — and our team is passionately committed to providing customers with the most expansive collection of compelling content anywhere in the world,” he wrote.

Amazon and Apple are both still tight lipped about subscriber numbers for streaming, which, for both, represent a tiny pocket of two of the world’s biggest companies and until recently was barely mentioned. That’s changed as the streamers make their mark on Hollywood. Apple’s Coda won the Oscar for Best Picture, following a huge run for series Ted Lasso – noted on multiple occasions by CEO Tim Cook. For parent Amazon, Prime Video has become a key perk to spur signups on Amazon Prime, the biggest customer loyalty program on the globe and that drives its massive e-commerce business.

“Today what we find is so many people are starting Prime because they see some show that they love in Prime Video,” he said. “I think that today [Prime Video] connects that Prime value proposition,” Jassy said.

Jassy took the reins at Amazon in July of last year when founder Jeff Bezos stepped back from day to day operations.