Prime Instant Video Greenlights Betas, an Original Comedy Pilot

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon Studios, the original film and series production arm of Amazon.com, today announced that it will add the comedy pilot Betas to the line-up of pilots already in production for Prime Instant Video. Betas, which is the eighth comedy pilot added to Amazon’s pilot line-up, will be made available (along with the other seven comedy pilots and six children’s pilots) for free on Amazon Instant Video, LOVEFiLM UK and LOVEFiLM Germany. Customers are invited to view the pilots and then review them on the site; customer feedback will help determine which of the 14 pilots Amazon Studios will make into full-season productions, to air on Prime Instant Video.

“We can’t wait to hear what fans think of this and the seven other comedy pilots we’re producing — we have unbelievable casts and crews working on these projects”

Set in the land of Silicon Valley start-ups where the right algorithm can make you king, Betas, written by Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard, follows four computer geeks and their quest for nerd fame as they attempt to crack the ultimate code. Ed Begley Jr., Jon Daly, Joe Dinicol, Margo Harshman, Charlie Saxton and Karan Soni star in the pilot.

Michael Lehmann (Heathers, True Blood, Dexter, American Horror Story) will direct and produce the pilot along with Emmy Award winners Alan Freedland and Alan Cohen (King of the Hill, Due Date, American Dad), and Academy Award nominated producer Michael London (Sideways, The Visitor, The Informant).

“Amazon is giving us a chance to work outside the TV bureaucracies and connect directly with audiences hungry for original content, and Betas is the perfect match for that model,” said producer Michael London. “Betas is a half hour comedy about a group of tech-savvy millennials trying to connect with the world both personally and professionally. Speaking for the whole creative team on Betas, we couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of the first launch of Amazon Studios pilots and working with such an inspiring group of people.”

“We can’t wait to hear what fans think of this and the seven other comedy pilots we’re producing — we have unbelievable casts and crews working on these projects,” said Roy Price Director of Amazon Studios.

Betas joins the lineup of seven previously-announced comedy pilots: Alpha House, Browsers, Dark Minions, Onion News Empire, Supanatural , Those Who Can’t, and Zombieland.

Comprehensive cast and crew information, including bios and filmographies, is available on Amazon's IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.

About Amazon Studios

Since its launch in November 2010, more than 14,000 movie scripts and 2,700 series pilot scripts have been submitted to Amazon Studios. The original series announced today will be added to the Amazon Studios development slate, which currently boasts 26 projects, including full-length motion picture scripts that are being tested with audiences.

Amazon Studios continues to invite series creators to upload their proposals for comedy and children’s programming at http://studios.amazon.com/getting-started/series or submit them privately via Amazon Studios.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7” and 8.9”. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.