Prime Video's Strategy to Attract Young Adult Audiences

At the Series Mania Festival in Lille, Nicole Morganti, head of originals for Southern Europe at Amazon MGM Studios, and Thomas Dubois, head of originals in France, outlined Prime Video's strategy to attract a younger, female audience. Morganti emphasized the company's commitment to creating content that appeals to women of all ages, particularly young adults. This initiative began with the successful “Culpables” trilogy, which garnered 100 million views globally and was remade in the U.K. as “My Fault.” Morganti noted, “We started to create a big pipeline in Spain about young adults, and we expanded to the rest of my region.”

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A significant aspect of Prime Video's strategy involves collaborating with authors from Wattpad, a platform popular among young adults. Morganti highlighted that partnerships with Wattpad authors have been transformative for the streamer, allowing them to tap into established fanbases. The recent Italian release “Love Me Love Me,” based on a Wattpad book with 24 million reads, exemplifies this approach. Dubois added that the company is exploring new genres within romance, including adaptations of dark romance novels like Sarah Rivens’ “Lakestone,” which has 26 million views on Wattpad.

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Morganti and Dubois indicated that Prime Video is not limiting itself to high school-themed shows, despite having several in development. Dubois stated, “We want to try not to replicate the same show all the time... We want each show to have its own singularity.” This diversification includes upcoming projects such as “Tempête,” described as a survivalist film with romantic elements, and a focus on innovative storytelling to meet evolving audience expectations.

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Beyond romance, Morganti discussed the success of genre films on Prime Video's Southern Europe slate, citing the Spanish thriller “Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End,” which achieved significant viewership outside of Spain. She remarked, “Who would have thought that an apocalyptic zombie story coming from Spain could actually conquer the U.S. and the rest of the world?” Additionally, Dubois announced plans to enhance Prime Video's film offerings in France with “Masterplan,” an international heist movie featuring Stanley Tucci and Simona Tabasco, marking the platform's first French-Italian original film.

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Morganti and Dubois's remarks reflect a strategic pivot towards content that resonates with younger demographics, particularly women. Their focus on innovative storytelling and genre diversification aims to position Prime Video as a leader in appealing to evolving audience preferences.

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While the strategy has garnered attention, some critics may question the sustainability of relying heavily on adaptations from platforms like Wattpad, suggesting that original storytelling may be compromised in favor of existing fanbases.

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• “We are much more female-centric. We are looking for women audience, all ages, and we are looking after women young adults,” — Nicole Morganti, Head of Originals for Southern Europe, Amazon MGM Studios

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• “ “We want to try not to replicate the same show all the time because there’s also a limit at some point within this space.” — Thomas Dubois, Head of Originals in France, Amazon MGM Studios

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• “Who would have thought that an apocalyptic zombie story coming from Spain could actually conquer the U.S. and the rest of the world,” — Nicole Morganti, Head of Originals for Southern Europe, Amazon MGM Studios

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