Amazon Paid $700K For Each Episode Of 'Under The Dome'

Amazon AMZN seems to have paid a fairly high price for CBS' CBS hit drama. During a UBS investor conference, CBS Chief Exec Les Moonves said that Amazon paid $700,000 for the digital streaming rights of each episode of Under the Dome. It's not uncommon for TV networks to spend $1 million or more producing each episode of an hour-long TV show. However, investors might be surprised to learn that Amazon paid nearly that much just to stream a show that already aired. "Who would have guessed that Amazon would make a deal where they show a show four days later and they pay you $700,000 an episode for that right?" said Moonves, as quoted by CNET. "That's a pretty good thing, that's a pretty good thing for content providers." It's not just a "good thing" -- it is also very unusual for the network. CBS is the only major TV network that hasn't invested in Hulu, the streaming video service owned by Comcast's NBC, Disney's ABC and 21st Century Fox. Up until this year, CBS did not stream any of its current prime time dramas through Hulu. The network changed that after adding the first four seasons of The Good Wife. The fifth season can only be viewed on CBS.com, however. CBS also allows viewers to catch up on new shows (usually the four most recent episodes) through select on demand cable services. While the network has been reluctant to offer online streaming options for shows it wants viewers to watch on TV when they air, CBS has gradually warmed up to the format. Sony, a major producer of hit TV shows, decided to cut out the middleman and go straight to Netflix for one of its new programs. Related: Netflix Should Stop 'Giving Entitlement to Movie Producers' and Buy AMC Netflix is known to overpay for shows, however. The company spent as much as $50 million for the first season of House of Cards. A comparable deal may have been too good for Sony to resist. Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ