Amazon’s unique method of greenlighting shows – debuting the pilots first and gauging viewer reaction – may not be the company’s primary m.o. forever. At the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Amazon Studios chief Roy Price said that, while Amazon doesn’t plan to eliminate pilots altogether, the company will likely start picking up more straight-to-series orders. “I think pilots will probably have to play less of a role going forward,” he said, explaining that it takes significantly longer to get a show onto the service if there’s a pilot first. “The reality of the marketplace is it’s competitive, and often you just have to go to series…both from a timing point of view and a competitive point of view,” he added.
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