Success of Clarkson’s Farm has seen Prime Video audiences skew male – executive
The show – which has been confirmed for a fifth season – has attracted huge attention to Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm shop.
An executive at Prime Video has said that the Amazon streaming platform’s audiences skew older and male because of the success of shows such as Clarkson’s Farm.
The series sees former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson try to turn his Oxfordshire farm into a business, while being aided by local farming experts who help him grow crops and look after animals.
The show – which has been confirmed for a fifth season – has attracted huge attention to his Diddly Squat farm shop, which has seen some long queues forming at Chadlington, near Chipping Norton, as fans of the series head to the location.
Hannah Blyth, head of TV at Prime Video for UK and Ireland at Amazon, told a session at industry event MIP London at the Savoy Hotel on Wednesday that “our focus for the next year or two is really making sure that we have a broad and well-rounded slate for our audiences”.
She added: “A key part of that (is) if you look at some of the shows that have been our biggest hits, like Clarkson’s Farm and Jack Reacher, they do on the face of it, look more male-skewing, older male-skewing.
“We still want to be programming for that audience, but (we want to be) finding ways to make sure that we’re serving (a) female and younger demographic as well.
“So that might be through quite targeted shows. Molly-Mae is a really good example of this, where it really drove a lot of acquisition to younger female audiences, and the show was very much designed for (them).”
Ms Blyth also said that they would be focusing on sports programming, while trying to broaden their appeal through focusing on the “wives and girlfriends of popular footballers” through the Prime Video reality series Married To The Game.
She said that Molly-Mae: Behind It All, which arrived earlier this year, allowed people to see influencer Hague, 25, as more than “very endearing”, which she said was how she came across on social media.
“Some of the biggest feedback we got was that it really changed people’s expectations of her (Molly-Mae) and what they thought that they knew,” Ms Blyth added.
“Some of our scripted shows will cast influencers and content creators for some of (our) roles.
“So we’re always looking at ways to engage with existing fan bases, but you have to do it in a way that’s authentic and makes sense.”
The Hague show looks at her split with fellow former reality TV star turned boxer Tommy Fury, also 25, who met on ITV2 reality series Love Island, along with the influencer’s day-to-day life including caring for their child Bambi, and managing her social media presence – which includes 8.5 million followers on Instagram.
Recently, Oscar-nominated actor and screenwriter Ethan Hawke criticised the use of influencers in scripted TV and film projects.
The Before Sunrise star told a press event at the Berlin Film Festival that he thinks it is “crazy” that people come to him when he is starting on a movie project and ask for someone with “10 million followers” to be cast who has never acted.
