Amazon has now spent over £5 billion on UK TV

Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios have invested over £5 billion in the UK, up from £1 billion in 2022.

Kelly Day, Vice President of International at Prime Video, announced the figure at the RTS London Convention on Tuesday (29 September).

The £5 billion covers UK television, film, live sport, talent and studio infrastructure. Amazon’s 2022 figure of £1 billion covered its UK spending over the preceding five years.

“5 billion invested in UK stories, UK talent in front and behind the camera, UK sport and UK studio infrastructure. That figure tells you everything about the trajectory we’re on. This isn’t just commitment, it’s acceleration,” said Kelly Day, Vice President of International at Prime Video.

Over 90 scripted and unscripted Amazon productions have filmed in the UK in the last decade. These include Bait, The Girlfriend and the All or Nothing football documentaries.

The UK also hosts production on Amazon’s largest global titles, including:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
• Tomb Raider
• Project Hail Mary
• The Thomas Crown Affair

Amazon holds a long-term lease on Pinewood’s Shepperton Studios and has expanded the site. It also acquired Bray Studios near Windsor, where it plans a major redevelopment.

Prime Video first entered live sport in the UK with ATP World Tour and Queen’s Club tennis. It then added Premier League football before expanding globally to Champions League football, the NBA and the NFL.

Amazon MGM Studios has committed £16 million to UK skills and training through its Prime Video Pathway initiative. Tara Erer, Convention Chair and Head of Northern Europe and Film & Unscripted, UK at Amazon MGM Studios, said 85% of the programme’s apprentices secured placements in the industry.

Former BBC Director General Tony Hall used the same event in 2018 to warn that streamers such as Netflix and Amazon threatened the range of distinctive British content.

“That’s not the narrowing Tony Hall feared. It’s an expansion. More British stories reaching more people around the world than ever before,” said Day.

Amazon has operated in the UK for almost 30 years and employs over 75,000 permanent staff. This places it among the UK’s top ten private sector employers.

The company announced a planned £40 billion investment in the UK over three years in 2025.

“Across Amazon, Prime Video, and Amazon MGM Studios, we’re here, we’re staying, we’re investing, and we’re building,” said Day.

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