Amazon moving to content delivery and changing the erstwhile business model of the industry signifies the flexibility and scalability of the cloud which enables cloud companies. Amazon has entered the original online content sub-sector with 14 TV pilot shows out of which six fall within the genre of kids shows with the rest being grown up comedies. Amazon is allowing the viewers to be their programming executives and create the content based on their tastes and preferences, making the service’s selection process transparent and interactive. Amazon asks straightforward questions whether a viewer has liked the show and would be willing to watch again or whether they would recommend the show. Viewers can also rate the script, concept of the show and acting quality.
Combining Analytics with Content Delivery Amazon plans to data mine the feedback with data Amazon will amass about how many people watched the show and how many watched the whole episode. It also plans to analyze social-media metrics (likes, sharing) and take inputs from offline focus groups to decide shows which can turn into a 13-episode season.
Amazon with its effort to engage the consumers more closely at the conceptual stage of a show, increases the bonding with the customers, which is a vital success factor for discovery in the digital interactive age. The increased interactivity, be it a wall panel or Amazon asking its consumer to rate pilot episodes of a series, also drives the need for big data analytics. I believe big data analytics will a play significant role in the medium term in deciding the service delivery models for many businesses.
This should also drive the adoption of smart TVs further. Research Firm NPD Group has revealed 45% of viewers in the US use Internet-connected HDTV sets more frequently than personal computers to view premium as well as free streaming content from the Internet. Consumers’ expectations across the value chain is for companies [Hulu, Netflix and Google] to respond with far greater alacrity and flexibility.