Earlier this month, Amazon launched 007: Highway to a Million onto Amazon Prime Video (Prime) – its subscription video on demand (SVOD) service. As the most important funding into an unscripted actuality present sinceThe Grand Tour, it represents Amazon’s first severe try to use the James Bond IP since its acquisition of MGM in March 2022. The present revolves round contestants competing to win £1 million in prize cash by a collection of Bond impressed spy challenges in iconic places used within the movies. Presenting (and channelling the James Bond arch villain stereotype) is Brian Cox, recent from his Golden Globe profitable efficiency as Logan Roy in HBO’s Succession. Cox performs the “the controller” and units the difficult duties for the contestants as they search to progress by the present.

Regardless of the underlying IP, expertise, and set places, 007: Highway to a Million is but to attach with critics and viewers alike, scoring low rankings on the UK’s BARB audiences TV viewing measures. This has been inflated by detractors as being an indication of underperformance for the present. Nonetheless, skilled critics and rankings methods designed primarily for broadcast TV (somewhat than streaming TV) will not be the very best choose of return on funding for Amazon on this case. That is primarily as a result of Amazon steadfast in a section of streaming TV brand-building.

007: Highway to a Million is a part of Amazon’s bigger streaming TV model technique

Amazon’s $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM represented a transparent transfer by Amazon to repurpose its streaming service from a video add-on to its core ecommerce enterprise right into a substitutive streaming TV different for Prime members. Key to that course of is making a sufficiently broad vary of content material property past the present movie and scripted drama library that has fashioned the majority of conventional SVOD content material choices. Alongside increasing into tier one sports activities protection (i.e., the $11 billion funding in NFL protection), Amazon has been busy increase its artistic repute amongst present runners and determining how finest to optimise the IP windfall generated by the MGM acquisition of which The Lord of the Rings and James Bond are the important thing property. 

To guage the success of Amazon’s multi-year streaming TV technique on the again of its first foray into James Bond IP improvement is to overlook the purpose – actuality TV is an early step into studying how you can exploit an IP with deep loyalty and a number of vested pursuits. Getting it proper with the primary season was at all times going to be a giant ask and would have been a pleasant bonus for the Prime staff. What has been, and can proceed to be, of far higher strategic significance is studying how you can market and construct wider model consciousness for mainstream shoppers. Finally, James Bond is being rebranded as a digital leisure asset, with 007: Highway to a Million being the primary artistic step in a journey to a bigger model impact-led vacation spot. 

No shock then that Amazon has ignored the critics and has already authorised season two of 007: Highway to a Million…