When will the second season of “The Rings of Power” premiere and how much did it cost to produce?

Amazon has shattered records with its latest TV series, “The Rings of Power,” which will see its second season premiere on August 29 and carries an eye-watering price tag of up to $1 billion. This draws the most expensive TV production in history, but there’s more at stake than just entertainment.

The seeds of this project were planted in 2017 when Amazon acquired the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels for $250 million. This deal allowed the tech giant to create an original series set in Tolkien’s universe, streaming exclusively on Prime Video.

After years of development and production, the first episode of “The Rings of Power” debuted on September 2, 2022, to a record-breaking 25 million global viewers within 24 hours. It was the biggest premiere in Prime Video’s history.

Why would Amazon invest such an astronomical sum in a single series?

While it’s tempting to see this as merely a move to outdo competitors like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, Amazon’s strategy delves much more profound.

Amazon’s core business remains retail, with nearly half of its revenue coming from online stores, compared to just 6.8% from subscription services like Prime Video. However, these subscriptions are crucial to Amazon’s larger strategy. The company’s goal isn’t solely to profit from video streaming; it’s to create a seamless ecosystem that keeps customers engaged across its platforms.

Viewers who tune into Amazon’s original series are more likely to renew their Prime memberships. Free trial users are more likely to convert to paying members, who, in turn, spend twice as much on Amazon products as non-members. The true value lies in the data collected about viewing habits and purchasing behaviors, which allow Amazon to recommend more products and services to customers, further entrenching them in the Amazon ecosystem.

This approach is not new for Amazon. In 2015, the company released “The Man in the High Castle,” a $72 million production that won two Emmys and drew in 1.15 million new Prime subscribers worldwide. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, has long understood the broader impact of successful content, famously stating in 2016, “When we win a Golden Globe, it helps us sell more shoes.”

Similarly, “The Rings of Power” is not just a display of production value. It’s a vehicle for selling Tolkien’s novels and other merchandise, drawing more consumers into Amazon’s vast ecosystem. What may seem like a billion-dollar gamble is a calculated investment in keeping customers within the Amazon fold, ensuring they continue to shop, stream, and spend within the company’s universe.