Amazon has reportedly pulled the plug on “Style Code Live,” the company’s first livestreamed show.
According to Page Six, the show was canceled after 15 months. Co-hosted by former “Good Morning America” correspondent Rachel Smith, Lyndsey Rodrigues and Frankie Grande, the show was Amazon’s push to create a new version of the QVC shopping experience.
The show skipped the typical monetization models—either subscription or advertising-supported—that many online video platforms use and instead leveraged Amazon’s massive e-commerce backend to sell products directly via the show.
"'Style Code Live' gives viewers a first-of-its-kind daily style and entertainment experience," said Terence Noonan, executive producer of the series, in a statement when the show launched. "We're live, interactive, and covering the latest trends in fashion and beauty each weeknight—with guest experts, celebrities, and viewer tips."
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Amazon executives had reason to believe the “Style Code Live” monetization would work since they had been seeing a number of Amazon Prime subscribers cross over and purchase things they had seen on the video platform. But the show's cancellation suggests that the strategy didn’t work.
Now, Amazon is looking to take more traditional—and more tried-and-true—approaches with its live video strategy. Earlier this year, Amazon won the rights to livestream the NFL’s Thursday Night Football. In all, Amazon reportedly spent $50 million for the rights to the 10 games, five times as much as Twitter paid for the same games last season.
But for its trouble, Amazon will have the opportunity to sell ad inventory on the livestreams.
“We are continually looking for ways to deliver our games to fans wherever they watch, whether on television or on digital platforms and we are thrilled to bring Thursday Night Football to Amazon,” said Brian Rolapp, chief media and business officer for the NFL, in a statement. “As has been the case with all our streaming initiatives, we look forward to continuing to innovate with our partners as we learn the best ways to serve our fans both this season and into the future.”
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime’s subscription-based video business continues to grow. Last month, Amazon Prime’s subscriber based was estimated to be 80 million, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. And Amazon Channels, the company’s curated SVOD hub for Prime subscribers, recently branched out to the U.K. and Germany.