How ‘Lord of the Rings’ Fan Jeff Bezos Helped Amazon Win Rights for TV ShowAmazon has spent roughly $715 million on "The Rings of Power," which debuts Sept. 2
image credit:- Google
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” premieres with an an eight-episode season on Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 2. It is the most expensive season of television ever made
image credit:- Google
The show takes place thousands of years before the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, drawing inspiration from events described in the novels. The cast includes new
image credit:- Google
In 2017, the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien, along with executives from Warner Bros., was shopping the television rights to “The Lord of the Rings.” While both Netflix
image credit:- Google
For Tolkien fans—like Mr. Bezos, 58, who once led a summer camp for younger neighbors with a reading list that included “Lord of the Rings”—the adaptation is a seismic event.
image credit:- Google
Collectively, the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion at the global box office. The final installment, “The Return of the King,” won a record-tying 11
image credit:- Google
It was not always happy behind the scenes. In 2012, the estate sued the trilogy’s studio, Warner Bros., over the use of “Rings” characters in online games and slot machines.
image credit:- Google
The market was perfectly primed for what they were offering. Amazon’s Prime Video team wanted a breakout show that would pull in subscribers to its Prime membership service
image credit:- Google
The sellers had expected to receive between $50 million and $75 million for the rights, said one person involved in the talks. The nearly $250 million offered by Amazon came
image credit:- Google
To win the “Rings” rights, Mr. Bezos worked with Amazon executives on the pitch—an unusual degree of involvement from the company’s then-CEO, according to former colleagues
image credit:- Google
5,143,885The approximate number of annual Prime subscriptions the show's rights and first season cost Amazon.
image credit:- Google
“We all told ourselves at the time that we couldn’t imagine people spending this money,” said one of the executives involved in the sale. “It was a special moment in time.”