Amazon Prime Video US channel boss Soumya Sriraman set to leave [EXCLUSIVE]

Soumya Sriraman, the former CEO of BritBox who joined Amazon to run its Prime Video Channels business in the United States, is stepping down after two years at SVOD.

Sources say the exec is still at Amazon but will be leaving shortly for another post elsewhere.

Sriraman is best known for her work in pioneering Britain's top streaming service BritBox in the United States, where she is based. SVOD was launched there in 2017 and quickly reached 250,000 subscribers within a year. At the time of Sriraman's departure in October 2020, the service had over 1.5 million subscribers. The successful launch in the US allowed co-operators BBC Studios and ITV to expand the brand to other markets including Australia and Canada.

As head of BritBox, Sriraman was responsible for commissioning and executive producing several shows , including “The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco” starring Rachel Stirling and Julie Graham, and “There She Goes,” starring David Tennant and Jessica Hynes, which won a BAFTA award for her role. Additionally, for the very first time on a streaming platform, BritBox broadcast the live stream of "Harry and Megan: The Royal Wedding" to North American audiences.

At Prime Video, Sriraman has kept a relatively low profile, although that's hardly surprising considering the nature of the Channels business, which does not exchange original programs but rather offers members the option of subscribing to various streaming and live television services, which in the US include HBO, Discovery+, Showtime , Starz, AMC+, BET+ and Paramount+.

Before leading BritBox, Sriraman was Executive Vice President of Franchises and Digital Business at BBC Studios - Americas, where she expanded consumer-facing activities for key BBC brands including 'Doctor Who' and 'BBC Earth'. Previously, she served as President and CEO of Palisades Tartan, an independent movie brand, and served as Senior Vice President of Movie Marketing at Vivendi Universal.

Sriraman's departure from Amazon does not appear to be directly related to a change in strategy for the Prime Video Channels activity.

Amazon declined to comment for this story.

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