Chris Bird, the director of Prime Video UK, has decided to step down from the role and leave the company after more than 14 years.
The news was announced in an internal memo sent to staff by Brigette Ricou-Bellan, the general manager of Prime Video EU, who noted that Bird had been with Amazon since joining as part of its acquisition of early streaming service LoveFilm in 2010 before taking over leadership of the U.K. team in 2021.
“In that time, Chris has helped to grow Prime Video UK into one of the most influential streaming services in the U.K., overseeing major milestones such as the recent launch of UEFA Champion’s League, the acquisition of Bray Studios as well as appearing in governmental select committees to demonstrate the importance of PV UK to the UK film and TV industry,” she wrote.
“Working with our content and studios partners on launches such as ‘The Rig,’ ‘The Devil’s Hour’ and of course, ‘Clarkson’s Farm,’ Chris has played a large part in establishing Prime Video as the premier entertainment destination in the U.K.. We’re very grateful to Chris for all his contribution to the PV business and to Amazon, and we wish him the very best.”
In a message to his colleague, Bird reflected on the seismic changes that had taken place in the industry since he first started.
“When I first joined a crazy small start-up called LoveFilm in 2004 (that was incorporated into Prime Video in 2010), our goal was to use new technology to help customers access film and TV in a deeper, more convenient, better value-for-money manner,” he wrote. “We cared about having a great selection of programming, innovating on behalf of customers, and delighting them with an ever refreshing offering. We dreamed, one day, to make our own UK TV series. It is incredibly rewarding now to look back and see how we have stood by these principles, built a world-beating business, and served hundreds of millions of customers so well, with so much.”
Bird is set to leave Prime Video later this month, with Ricou-Bellan noting that a search for his successor would begin “shortly.”
