Prime Video UK Invests £1 Billion in TV, Movies & Live Sports

Prime Video UK has invested more than £1 billion ($1.2 million) in TV, movies and live sports to date, the company revealed alongside a slate of new originals.

“It was important to bring people together at Prime Video Presents to not only showcase our brilliant upcoming shows and movies but to demonstrate how committed we are to the UK in the long term,” explained Chris Bird, managing director of Prime Video UK. “We’ve spent a long time building a service that offers customers a variety of ways to access the TV shows and movies they love–either included as part of their subscription, as an add-on channel or being able to rent or buy at a low price. We have invested more than £1 billion on TV series, movies and live sport since 2018. But it’s just as important that we’re investing in the U.K.’s world-leading production and creative industries, with a growing number of U.K. originals; through a £10 million commitment to training and skills schemes; and by taking a long-term lease at Shepperton Studios.”

Prime Video also announced the creation of a new fund designed to support British women’s tennis. Prime Video will work with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to help girls and young women overcome barriers to play, with a focus on coaching, equipment and environment.

“When we committed to reinvesting the fees generated from the US Open final, it was important for us to take the time to fully understand the existing barriers that girls and young women face when playing tennis,” said Alex Green, managing director of live sport for Prime Video Europe. “We need to ensure that we are helping to foster the right environment in which girls can feel empowered to play and learn the sport. Our work with the LTA has helped us take huge strides in this area and this fund will directly tackle these barriers later this year.”

Prime Video has also set a new slate of U.K. originals, including Fifteen-Love, a scripted drama from World Productions (Vigil). Fifteen-Love explores the dangerous lines where personal and professional relationships collide, set amid the glamorous cut-and-thrust world of elite tennis.

In the way of true crime, The Disappearance of Patricia Hall (working title), from ITN Productions, is the real-life story of the disappearance of Patricia Hall from a small town in Yorkshire and the subsequent investigation in which her husband, Keith Hall, appeared to admit to her murder before questions were raised about the reliability of his “confession.”

Three Mothers (working title) is a new three-part series from Firecrest Films. Set in the wild west days of the infancy of the internet, it tells the real-life story of three women who all found themselves in the middle of an unbelievable series of events that captured the world’s attention.

In the new original documentary Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes, the new England cricket captain discusses the highs and lows of his record-breaking career with Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes (1917). The film tells the story of Stokes’ career, examining his World Cup triumph and heroics at the Headingley crease, as well as the lows that saw him take time away from the game and came at a personal cost.

“We have supercharged Prime Video’s UK slate with a diverse range of high-quality, distinctive programs across documentary, drama, comedy, entertainment and film,” said Dan Grabiner, head of U.K. originals at Amazon Studios. “It’s such a thrill seeing the slate grow in partnership with some of the U.K.’s most talented creatives, from first-time creators to legends of British television.”