Amazon Studios launched three years ago with the goal of allowing Amazon’s customers to serve as gatekeepers for online video.

Now, with “Alpha House” debuting this Friday, Amazon Studios has a much bigger ladder to climb as it tries to challenge Netflix with original streaming content. CNET today published a rundown of where Amazon came from and where it’s going now as it works to achieve even bigger aims.

Amazon Studios, the production side of retail giant Amazon, still wants to persuade people to join Amazon Prime, according to CNET, but it also has its sights set on changing people’s perceptions of online video. Originally, Amazon Studios’ biggest aim was discovering new talent and providing a platform for them to distribute their work.

“Alpha House,” starring John Goodman, is one example of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ newer and bigger aims. Premiering on Friday, Nov. 15, the studio’s first full series cost millions, using big names to appeal to potential customers.

Series such as “Alpha House” were also data-mined through Amazon’s customer base. Early on, Amazon Studios realized that its most popular submissions were scripted comedies. Roy Price, director of the studio, and his team used customer feedback and other data to decide which scripts to create, relying on pure data to dictate content.

Last year, the studio ramped up its game versus Netflix by recruiting a TV development team, mixing up its submission process with a traditional TV arm. But its reliance on data hasn’t changed, mining data from purchases on Amazon.com as well as from customer feedback to help the company determine which pilots it wants to go after this spring.

Read more at CNET.

Brief Take: With both Amazon and Netflix using data to determine their development, it will be interesting to see if more traditional TV networks and studios turn more to that approach as well.

[Image courtesy of Amazon]

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