What Are Content Rights?
Content rights are the licensing terms that authorize Prime Video to make your content available to customers. They answer four essential questions about every title you deliver:
Question |
What You Define |
Example |
What to sell? |
Title and its format |
“The First Dance” in HD and SD |
Where to sell it? |
Territories where rights apply |
US, GB, DE, AU |
When to make it available? |
Start and end dates of the license |
2026-01-15 to 2027-01-14 |
At what price? |
Only applicable to TVOD. Pricing terms for transactional (VOD/EST) content |
Wholesale Price (WSP) at 9.99 USD |
Without accurate content rights, Prime Video cannot publish your content. No rights submission means no customer-facing offer.
Why Content Rights Matter
Your content rights submission is the first step in the publishing workflow. Everything downstream depends on it.
Scenario |
What Happens |
Customer Impact |
Operational Impact |
Resolution |
✅ Rights are accurate and complete |
Your titles go live at the specified launch date. |
Customers in the right territories can find and watch your content. |
Pricing and availability display correctly across all Prime Video storefronts. Pre-orders, carousel placements, and promotional features work as intended. |
N/A - Everything is correct |
❌ Rights are missing or incorrect |
Prime Video cannot publish your title, even if all other assets are delivered. |
Customers may see incorrect pricing, availability, or territory restrictions. Pre-order customers may lose access to content they already paid for. |
A delay in your launch. |
Depending on your publishing method, self-service solutions can be found on the following pages:
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![[ICON] Important](https://cdn.bsp.partner-portal.pv.amazon.dev/d6/b7/1bc515f940a9b8e27ca63c3a70d7/callout-important.svg)
The Six Components of Every Content Rights Submission
Every content rights submission is built on six core components. These components define the scope that Prime Video uses to group and process your rights.
Understanding scope helps you predict how updates affect your current and future rights. When you submit new rights, Prime Video groups them by these six components. This determines what gets replaced, added, or removed.
Component |
What It Defines |
Why It Matters |
Licensor |
Your organization, identified by your Prime Video PartnerAlias. |
Tells Prime Video who is granting the rights. |
Content ID (SKU) |
The identifier that links your rights to your title and assets. |
Connects your rights file to your metadata and playable assets. |
Business Line |
The customer-facing destination: SVOD Prime or a 3rd Party (3P) Channel. In EMA Avails, this is the GroupIdentity field. |
Determines which storefront and customer base your title reaches. |
Quality |
The video resolution (for example, HD, SD, 4K, or UHD). |
Controls which format customers can access. |
Territory |
The country or region where rights apply (ISO 3166-1 code). |
Defines where customers can find and purchase your title. |
Rights Model |
The license type: TVOD, SVOD, and so on. |
Determines how customers access your content: purchase, rent, or subscribe. |
Content Management
Once your titles are live on Prime Video, your content rights become the primary tool for managing your catalog. You do not need to redeliver assets or metadata to move, update, or publish existing titles. Content rights control where, when, and how your catalog appears to customers. To update availability, change territories, adjust pricing, or expire a title, submit updated content rights. Use the same unique IDs from your original delivery. Prime Video matches your new rights to the assets and metadata already in the system. This means your catalog stays current without duplicating work. The key is your unique ID. Every update you submit must reference the same ID used in your original delivery files. As long as your IDs are consistent, Prime Video links your updated rights to the correct title automatically.
Why Matching IDs Matter
Your content rights are one of several delivery files that must work together to publish a title on Prime Video. Regardless of the publishing tools you use to deliver content, your Content IDs (SKUs) must match across all files.
This applies to every delivery method:
1. EMA Avails and MovieLabs MEC/MMC. Your EMA Avails file carries the rights. The MEC (Media Entertainment Core) file carries your title metadata. The MMC (Media Manifest Core) file maps your playable assets. All three files must share the same unique ID.
2. mRSS. Your mRSS feed carries rights and metadata together. The IDs in your feed must match the IDs on your delivered assets.
3. APIs. Your API payloads carry rights data programmatically. The IDs you submit through the API must match the IDs on your assets and metadata. This applies regardless of how those were delivered.
What Happens When IDs Match
When your IDs are identical across all delivery files:
- Prime Video links your rights, assets, and metadata automatically.
- Your title publishes with the correct availability, pricing, and descriptive information.
- Customers see the right title, in the right territory, at the right price.
What Happens When IDs Do Not Match
When any ID differs across your files:
- Prime Video cannot link your rights to your assets or metadata.
- Your title will not publish, even if all other information is correct.
- Manual investigation is required to identify and fix the mismatch.
The Delivery Files That Must Share the Same ID
For partners using the MovieLabs method (EMA Avails + MEC + MMC):
Delivery File |
What It Contains |
ID Field |
Content Rights (EMA Avails) |
Licensing terms: territory, format, dates, pricing |
ALID (EMA v1.7+) or AltID (EMA v1.6) |
Title Metadata (MEC) |
Descriptive information: title, synopsis, cast, genre, rating |
ContentID |
Asset Manifest (MMC) |
Playable assets: video, audio, timed text, artwork |
ContentID |
For partners using other methods (mRSS or APIs), the same principle applies. Your unique identifier must be consistent across every file and payload you deliver for a given title.
Two Ways to Deliver Content Rights
Prime Video supports two methods for delivering content rights. Choose the method that fits your workflow.
Method |
Best For |
Format |
EMA Avails File |
Partners who manage rights in spreadsheets or rights management systems that export EMA format. |
XLS file following the EMA Avails specification (v1.6 to v1.9). |
Prime Video Avails API |
Partners who want to automate rights delivery through direct system integration. |
JSON payloads submitted via REST API. |
Both methods accept the same content rights information. The difference is how you deliver it.
EMA Avails File
The EMA Avails file is a spreadsheet that follows the Entertainment Merchants Association specification. You fill in the required fields, save the file, and deliver it to Prime Video through your standard delivery workflow.
For detailed guidance on every field in the EMA Avails file, see the other documents in this series:
1. Basics of EMA Avail Delivery. Covers all fields, content types, EntryType/Scope, language codes, unique IDs, controlled codes, and start/end terms.
2. Pricing. Covers PriceType, PriceValue, PriceCurrency, SRP, and the full currency map for 240+ territories.
3. Marketing (Carousels and Pre-Orders). Covers BrandingRights for the Featured Originals carousel and POEST/EST pre-order submission rules.
Prime Video Avails API
The Prime Video Avails API lets you submit content rights programmatically. This is ideal if your rights management system can make REST API calls directly.
For API field mappings that correspond to EMA Avails fields, see the EMA to API Field Mapping section. You can find it in Document 1: Basics of EMA Avail Delivery.
For full API documentation, visit: Prime Video Avails API Documentation
Publishing Requirements
All content rights fields fall into one of four categories. These categories are used consistently across all documents in this series. Cell background colors identify each category at a glance.
Category |
Definition |
Required |
Your title will not publish without these fields for the applicable content type. Providing only required fields results in a basic customer experience. |
Enhanced |
These fields are not required for publishing. Providing them improves discoverability, placement, and the customer experience. |
Conditional |
This field is required only when specific conditions are met. The condition is noted in the field description. If the condition applies to your title, the field becomes required. |
Discarded |
Amazon does not use this field. |
For the complete field-by-field breakdown with publishing requirement categories for each content type, see Basics of EMA Avail Delivery.
Where to Next?
This overview gives you the foundation. The other documents in this series provide the detailed, field-level guidance you need.
Rights and Avails Hub
Content Rights: Overview
Rights and Avails Hub
Content Rights: Marketing
Rights and Avails Hub
Content Rights: Pricing
Rights and Avails Hub
Content Rights: Basics of EMA Avail Delivery
Rights and Avails Hub
Fanout territory logic
Rights and Avails Hub
Language holdback and allowed languages
Rights and Avails Hub
