They tracked each show and analyzed how many people watched and then converted from free Prime trial periods or extended their current membership. But there was little evidence of a connection between viewing and purchasing behavior—especially one that justified the enormous outlay on video. Any correlation was also obfuscated by the fact that Prime was growing rapidly on its own. The truth was this: Bezos wanted Amazon to make TV shows and films. He could see that the decades-old way that TV shows and movies were produced and distributed was changing and sought a principal role for Amazon in
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