Amazon’s Prime Video and IMDb TV have inked a multiyear licensing deal with Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, bringing blockbusters like “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “F9” to the company’s streaming platforms.
Under the new agreement, Prime Video will have an exclusive pay-one window for UFEG’s slate of live-action films in the U.S. (starting with the 2022 release slate) and will also receive rights to a package of UFEG’s library movies.
Universal’s pact with Amazon comes after the studio inked a deal with Peacock making the NBCUniversal streaming service the pay-one partner for the initial four months of the post-theatrical period as well as the final four months of the window (with the middle 10 months licensed nonexclusively to other partners). Both Peacock and Universal are owned by Comcast.
Notably, IMDb TV is the first AVOD service to secure network-window rights from a major studio with Universal’s 2020-21 movies including “F9,” “Sing 2,” “Old” and more, set to live exclusively on Amazon’s premium free streaming service.
For the Prime Video side of the deal, Universal’s blockbuster titles like “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “The 355” and “Ambulance” will debut on Peacock, before heading to Prime Video four months later. The pact also includes UFEG’s animated slate, including Illumination’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “The Bad Guys.”
UFEG’s library titles, including the “Jurassic Park” franchise, “Bourne” franchise, “Love Actually,” “Get Out” and the “Fast & Furious” franchise will also become available on Prime Video.
IMDb TV has also secured an additional network window for films from UFEG’s 2020-21 theatrical slate, meaning that titles like “Dolittle,” “The Invisible Man,” “F9 (Fast & Furious 9),” and “Sing 2,” to stream with full exclusively across AVOD and SVOD, during the license period. This deal also extends to Universal’s animated library, including Illumination’s “Despicable Me 2” and DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” and “Shrek 2.”
“We know Prime members love movies and this new deal with UFEG will deliver some of the best films available for our customers,” said Brad Beale, Prime Video VP of worldwide content licensing. “This new slate of UFEG films, including exciting upcoming releases such as ‘Jurassic World: Dominion,’ ‘The 355,’ and ‘Ambulance’ will continue to build upon Prime Video’s catalog and delight Prime members, all at no additional cost to their membership.”
“Recognizing that all parties would benefit from a modernized windowing structure, this new agreement allows Prime Video and IMDb TV to benefit from UFEG’s vast library and diverse content like never before,” added Peter Levinsohn, UFEG’s vice chairman and chief distribution officer. “We’re thrilled to team up with Amazon to deliver our titles to its customers. This agreement further delivers on our distribution strategy to monetize our unparalleled movie library across multiple services, while offering customers the most choice, control and flexibility in how, when and where they watch films.”
The deal builds on the recent announcement that brought Peacock to Fire TV customers and furthers the partnership between Amazon and NBCUniversal, the companies said.
“This significant deal with UFEG is another step forward in solidifying IMDb TV’s reputation as a premium free destination for blockbuster movies,” said Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi, co-heads of content and programming at IMDb TV. “Expanding our library with prominent UFEG titles from every genre, IMDb TV continues to deliver on our promise to provide viewers the content they crave with something for everyone.”
Deadline was first to report news of the licensing pact.
