Ex-BritBox chief Sriraman joins Amazon

Soumya Sriraman is joining tech giant Amazon to lead its Prime Video Channels business in the US, following her departure from rival streamer BritBox earlier this month.

Soumya Sriraman

Sriraman stood down as CEO of the ITV and BBC Studios joint venture at the start of October having led its launch in North America.

She has now been appointed US head of Amazon Prime Video Channels. The news was first reported by Deadline.

Sriraman will oversee a channels business that brings US networks including HBO, Showtime and Starz to Prime Video members via a subscription.

She will work alongside former Sony Pictures Television chairman Mike Hopkins, who joined as VP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios earlier this year.

Sriraman is described as a key architect in building and launching BritBox, which has achieved 1.5 million subscribers in the US and Canada to date.

She is also responsible for commissioning and executive producing several shows for the service, including The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco with Rachel Stirling and Julie Graham, and There She Goes, starring David Tennant and Jessica Hynes.

Previously, Sriraman served as exec VP of franchise and digital enterprises at BBC Studios Americas, where she expanded consumer-facing activities for BBC brands including Doctor Who and BBC Earth.

Prior to joining BBC Studios, Sriraman was president and CEO of Palisades Tartan, an independent film brand, where she spearheaded several Academy Award-nominated and -winning films, relaunched the Tartan brand and expanded its distribution footprint globally.

Emily Powers was promoted to replace Sriraman at Britbox last week.