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Amazon Moves Into Original TV Programming, Says It’s Looking for Future ‘Brandon Tartikoffs’

May 3, 2012  •  Post A Comment

Amazon has taken the wraps off an initiative to move into original television programming to distribute over its streaming service, starting with comedy series and children’s programming, reports Reuters.

The public will be able to submit ideas for TV series to Amazon Studios’ website, the story says. The company plans to option one new project per month, adding each project to a development slate.

"People look for the next Brandon Tartikoff," said Amazon Studios director Roy Price, citing the famed NBC programming chief of the 1980s. "Our version of it is, we’re not so much looking for the next Brandon Tartikoff but we’re all Brandon Tartikoffs, not as individuals but collectively." Price’s remarks were quoted in a version of the story in the Chicago Tribune, which originally appeared in Variety.

The push into TV is part of a bigger effort by Amazon to produce its own content, including e-books and video, the piece notes.

Amazon Studios debuted in 2010 and asks customers to review movie scripts and ideas online. It has 15 movie projects under development.

The television effort is led by Joe Lewis, who previously worked at 20th Century Fox and Comedy Central, and Tara Sorensen, who previously worked at National Geographic Kids.

If an idea gets distributed as a full-budget series, Amazon will give the creator $55,000 and up to 5% of Amazon’s net receipts from toy and T-shirt licensing, as well as other royalties and bonuses, according to the story.

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