How to Publish a Movie

Pre-orders let you build audience anticipation before your title is available to watch. With a pre-order window, customers can commit to your movie early and lock in their purchase before release day. This gives you a head start on sales and signals demand before your title even goes live. To do this, you’ll need to deliver a trailer with your movie. For information on how to deliver a trailer and set up a pre-order correctly, see the Value-Added Material and our Build Anticipation for Upcoming Titles guides.

All movie fields fall into one of these three categories. Understanding these categories helps you prioritize your submission and avoid delays.

Component Breakdown

The table below lists the components to publish a movie on Prime Video.

Movies on Prime Video can currently only be delivered using the MovieLabs specification. The MovieLabs specification organizes your publishing requirements into five components. For sample files for delivery via the MovieLabs spec, please visit our Sample File Repository.

Important

Movies can currently only be delivered using the MovieLabs specification. For full details on MovieLabs delivery, please visit the MovieLabs Packaging Requirements.

MovieLabs Delivery Components at a Glance

Use the table below to understand what each component does and how it is delivered. Deliver all of the components below via your chosen file ingestion method (Aspera or AWS S3).

Avails are the licensing terms that authorize Prime Video to distribute your content. They answer four key questions: what to sell, where, when to make it available, and at what price.

EMA Avails are required for TVOD, Channels, and SVOD CPH business lines. You deliver them as an XLS file following the EMA specification (v1.6 to v1.9).

Important

Do not put descriptive metadata in your EMA Avails file; rights data and title data belong in separate files. Mixing them causes ingestion errors.

Your MEC file contains all the descriptive information customers use to make viewing decisions. It includes your title, synopsis, runtime, genre, director, cast, ratings, and more.

Important

The ContentID in your MEC file must match the ALID/AltID in your EMA Avails file exactly. Even a one-character difference will break the link between your files.

Playable assets are the files served to customers when they press play. They include video, audio, and timed text. You deliver these via standard delivery using Aspera or S3.

Video

Submit your video as a mezzanine file that meets Prime Video technical specifications. Your video file is the reference point for all timed text timing.

Audio

Audio assets cover three categories:

• Original language audio: Required for all titles.
• Dubbed audio: Required when you offer the title in additional languages.
• Descriptive audio (AD): Required for accessibility compliance in applicable territories.

Timed Text

Timed text files provide subtitles, closed captions, and forced narratives. These improve accessibility and extend your reach to more customers.

Your artwork appears on the title page and in search results. It is the first visual impression customers have of your movie. For the latest requirements around artwork, please review the Required Artwork Guide.

Important

All four artwork types are publishing blockers for movies. Your title will not go live until Cover Art, Box Art, Poster Art, and Hero Art are all delivered.

Your MMC file maps all deliverables to the correct title and rights window. It tells Prime Video systems where each file goes. Without a valid MMC file, your assets cannot be matched to your title.

The MMC file covers your video, audio, timed text, and artwork. Every asset referenced in your MMC file must also be physically delivered.

MMC Requirements

• Specification version: Deliver under MovieLabs Media Manifest Core (MMC) specs version 1.5.
• Delivery method: Submit via Bulk File Delivery as an XML file.

Important

The Content ID (SKU) in your MMC file must match the ALID/AltID in your EMA Avails and MEC files. All three files must share the exact same ContentID (SKU).