With ‘Alpha House,’ Amazon Makes Bid for Living Room Screens and Beyond - NYTimes.com

(Amazon) Prime time TV

"Lest you think Amazon is simply being generous, it is important to note that Prime members reportedly spend 150 percent more on the site after joining. You get the drift: Come for “Alpha House” and stick around to buy a big new flat-screen to watch it on.
It’s not cheap or easy to make content. Variety estimated that the company is spending $1 million to $2 million an episode on original programming and will not reap immediate profits, but Amazon is playing a longer game. It’s part of the so-called flywheel effect, a business theory that suggests that adding small features to a core business — in Amazon’s case, selling millions of products online — makes the wheel spin faster, helping you add customers and achieve efficiencies through increased scale."

With ‘Alpha House,’ Amazon Makes Bid for Living Room Screens and Beyond - NYTimes.com