Amazon shakes up streaming leadership team

Amazon announced this week that Jennifer Salke is stepping down as the head of Amazon MGM Studios — a move that could indicate high-level dissatisfaction with the company’s streaming strategy over the past few years. To be clear, Salke’s boss Mike Hopkins (the head of Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video) praised her work in an email to employees and described her departure as one that allows the company to “flatten our leadership structure a bit” — a recurring theme in recent tech company layoffs. In other words, Amazon does not intend to fill Salke’s role. Instead, the heads of its film and TV studios report directly to Hopkins. But the reporting around Salke’s departure highlights Amazon’s streaming disappointments and challenges under her leadership. Previously an exec at NBC, Salke joined Amazon Studios in 2018, as the company was looking to expand beyond critically praised movies and shows into more mainstream hits. The streamer has had its share of successes since then, includ ... Read full article.