The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power May Soon Be on Another Streaming Service

For the first time ever, Amazon MGM Studios is making some of its biggest original content available to other streamers and platforms. On Thursday, the studio announced that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power would be one of its first series to enter syndication, along with the spy-thriller Citadel. According to a report by Variety, other companies are eager for the chance to air these shows, though not any of Prime Video’s competitors in the SVOD arena — at least not yet. So far, interest is reportedly coming in from cable outlets, particularly those overseas. The head of Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, Chris Ottinger, said that shows like this would not be cheap for third parties, for fear of damaging the branding of the shows themselves.

“We would want premium pricing because it’s a premium product,” Ottinger said of The Rings of Power in particular. “Season 1 of The Rings of Power was the biggest TV series premiere in the history of Prime Video and Season 2 was the most-watched returning season ever on Prime Video at the time. Ultimately, it depends on the partner and where they plan to place it. If someone wants it for Thursday at 8 p.m. — a prime slot — I expect top dollar.”

So far, interest has reportedly come from British TV outlets ITV and BBC, as well as cable networks in Spain, Italy, Germany, and South America. Amazon MGM Studios presented these two titles at L.A. Screenings, which is typically the province of cable and broadcast networks. However, many of Prime Video’s competitors are still represented there by their parent companies — CBS instead of Paramount+, NBCUniversal instead of Peacock, Warner Bros. instead of HBO Max, and so on.

[RELATED: 5 Must-See Shows if You Love House of the Dragon]

There’s an argument to be made that The Rings of Power would benefit from airing away from Prime Video, in some ways. The show is not affiliated with the Peter Jackson film trilogies, which are about to see a resurgence with the release of new movies in the coming years. However, Rings of Power might pull in casual fans who are unaware of the distinction if it gets a chance to reach them. This might help it find its own niche in the fantasy genre.

The Rings of Power and Citadel are both among the most expensive shows Amazon has ever produced, and that seems to be a trend with the material the streamer is prepared to license. After this, the next two shows entering syndication will reportedly be the spy-thriller Butterfly and the action series Countdown. Amazon intends to offer these up after Prime Video has had them exclusively for 18 months each.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power aired its second season last fall, and a third season just began filming. At the time of this writing, you can only stream the series on Prime Video here in the U.S.