Amazon MGM Studios has found its new head of TV: an exec who spent over a decade at rival Netflix.
Peter Friedlander ran scripted TV in the US and Canada for Netflix, where he was credited with shepherding hits like “Stranger Things” and “Bridgerton.” He worked there from 2011 until this August.
Friedlander replaces Vernon Sanders, who announced his departure last week. Sanders’ old boss, fellow NBCUniversal alum Jen Salke, left earlier in the year.
Amazon MGM Studios, known for originals like “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “Reacher,” drives Prime Video. The service captured 3.9% of US TV watch time in August, trailing Google’s YouTube, Netflix, and Disney’s combined streamers, according to Nielsen.
Unlike streaming rivals such as Netflix and Disney+, Prime Video has built a big business by letting people easily subscribe to a wide array of streamers from HBO Max to Hallmark+ — via its “channels” program — and it’s leaning into it as it tries to become the default destination for TV watching.
Friedlander’s appointment is the last in a string of big leadership changes this year at Amazon’s entertainment unit. In addition to Salke’s exit, Jay Marine moved into a bigger role overseeing the Prime Video business while Albert Cheng, who had led that business, moved into an AI role.
Here’s the memo from Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM, on Friedlander: