News: Amazon Obtains The Lord Of The Rings TV Series For Nearly $250 Million



It had been reported that the J.R.R. Tolkien estate was shopping the rights to a TV series based on The Lord of the Rings novels, with Amazon as the front runner. Amazon has finalized a near $250 million deal for the global TV rights and given the series a multi-season order, as well as potential spin-offs. 

Amazon, Netflix, HBO had been appoached. Amazon and Netflix were the only two said to be interested, but this was a huge expenditure for Amazon. The potentially $250 million price tag doesn't include developing a concept, along with all of the other budgetary issues that exist with building a TV series. It's expected that the budget for a fantasy series like this could be around $100-$150 million per season, which is near what Game of Thrones is expected to run in its final season. 

Both Amazon and Netflix wanted to have a competitive show that is similar to Game of Thrones, but Amazon had a mandate for a GoT type show directly from head Jeff Bezos. The series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.