Amazon’s upcoming reality show with YouTube’s biggest star, Jimmy Donaldson (known online as MrBeast), was supposed to be a bold bet on the future of TV. But it’s starting to turn into a massive headache for the tech giant.
In March, Amazon announced the show, called “Beast Games,” and said it would offer a $5 million prize money — believed to be the largest in TV history. It seemed like a coup for Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon MGM Studios, who needed a hit, especially as Prime Video was about to take its first big step into the TV ad sales community.
“We are excited to work with Jimmy and his talented team to bring his brilliant, high-production, high-stakes concepts to ‘Beast Games’ for our global customers to experience,” said Salke. at that time. “Beast Games” was part of a celebrity-studded Amazon lineup that debuted in its first TV debut in May.
But now, a PR disaster surrounding the show — and a wider account surrounding Donaldson — have raised questions about the show’s advertising prospects and launch date.
Two Amazon insiders said the show faced risks from the start with Amazon agreeing to give Donaldson control over the show’s creative, as well as approval over advertising sponsors, as part of its effort to land the deal during a competitive bidding process.
“We really need a shot. So they just let him do whatever,” an Amazon insider said. The insiders spoke to Business Insider on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the show.
Amazon declined to comment for BI.
MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, opening a MrBeast restaurant in a New Jersey mall in 2022. Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for MrBeast Burger
“Beast Games” was supposed to kick off Amazon’s video ad sales efforts with a show expected to attract a wide audience and appeal to advertisers. Despite being a dominant spender on entertainment content, Prime Video has faced questions about its popularity with viewers. According to Nielsen’s Gauge, the service accounted for 3.1% of streaming TV viewing in June, behind YouTube’s 9.9% and Netflix’s 8.4%.
A top ad buyer briefed on Amazon’s Beast Games pitch earlier this spring was impressed while describing it as expensive compared to other high-profile TV show sponsorships. Amazon pitched it as a sponsorship with the option to have products integrated into the show for advertisers spending $10 million or more.
“They’re getting smart about packaging,” said the buyer, who requested anonymity to discuss private negotiations. “They are starting to behave like a TV player.”
The agency eventually ended up passing, however, the buyer said.
But the positive sentiment surrounding the show was thrown into serious question when The New York Times published a bombshell report in early August that focused on security concerns surrounding the production of “Beast Games.” The Times reported that more than a dozen people who took part in the first installment of the show said they did not have enough food or medical care and that some contestants were injured as a result of the physical challenges. Donaldson’s camp, which is backed by crisis PR professional Matthew Hiltzik, said only a handful of people were injured and blamed many of the execution problems on the local Vegas staff hired to get the shots for the show.
Whatever the cause, the negative press attention could not have helped the show’s advertising prospects. The first Amazon insider said the broadcaster had been close to closing the deal, but chatter inside the company was that the controversy had stalled negotiations.
“It’s going to be a mess,” this person added.
A second Amazon insider said producers were already talking about making a Fyre Fest-like documentary about “Beast Games.”
Controversy raises questions about what’s next for ‘Beast Games’
Typically, a complicated reality show like “Beast Games” would go through careful legal vetting to identify and manage inherent risks — something Amazon’s reality show experts who work on hits like “Shark Tank” would know. ” and “Survivor”.
“All you do is go through worst-case scenarios and work backwards from there,” the second Amazon insider said.
In this case, the MrBeast team was in control – not Amazon.
With the show in production and a lot of money on the line — Puck previously reported that Amazon paid nearly $100 million for the show — it’s hard to imagine “Beast Games” being canceled. But Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, is all over the situation, two Amazon insiders said. One added that there had been discussions about pushing the as-yet-unannounced launch date to distance it from the PR fiasco.
Insiders said they also worried the situation could give Amazon’s higher-ups an excuse to cut Amazon MGM Studios’ budget for unscripted shows or entertainment spending altogether, especially as live sports become more costly and eat up a larger share of media companies. content costs.
Still, Amazon is one of the biggest spenders on content these days as other media companies cut back. According to Ampere Analysis, it increased spending by $1.7 billion to $13.6 billion for sports and entertainment content. Reuters also reported that Amazon plans to double its theatrical releases, from six in 2024 to 16 in 2027.
Amazon has made a largely positive impression on advertisers overall in selling ads on Prime Video, thanks to its large ad-supported audience, large sports footprint and pricing that is competitive with other broadcasters. Amazon also has an extensive portfolio, including Twitch and Wondery, that advertisers can use to expand their ad buys and the ability to link ads to sales results.
“They look like Teflon,” said a third Amazon insider, referring to the company’s ability to survive controversy and the likelihood it could avoid this latest MrBeast drama.