James Fleury

A number of articles across different websites have attempted to explain what’s known as “blockchain technology.” The New York Times alone features articles with titles like “A Guide to the World of Blockchain,” “Demystifying the Blockchain,” and “What Is the Blockchain? Explaining the Tech Behind Cryptocurrencies.” As these examples suggest, blockchain remains an intriguing but largely unknown concept—particularly as it relates to the American film and television industry. In this post, I will offer my own understanding of blockchain and Hollywood’s interest in the technology.

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This post extends from my previous analysis of how the Twitch live-streaming video service supports the Amazon platform. Despite competition from Google’s YouTube Gaming, Twitch remains the dominant platform for watching esports (i.e., professional video gaming). In fact, esports accounts for 11% of total Twitch viewership. In this post, I provide a brief overview of the esports market and its value for Hollywood.

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Last time, I looked at the film and television franchise ambitions of Amazon Studios. In this post, I’m focusing on video game initiatives across the Amazon platform, with overviews of hardware, software and retail. Overall, I argue that, despite some struggles, video games represent the next frontier for Amazon’s media expansion.

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Along with other tech-media hybrids like Netflix and Apple, Amazon continues to reshape the contemporary media landscape. In the Digital Incubation Think-Tank, we have researched these and other changes emanating from the tectonic shifts due to the collision of Silicon Valley and Hollywood. This post provides an overview of Amazon’s film and television industry involvement, as the company has expanded from an indie, prestige strategy to one increasingly focused on blockbusters.

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