I'll respond to both you and Ken and hopefully clarify my remarks.
DPR has a reputation for being a credible, well respected, unbiased and technically competent reviewer. Their reviews do have an overall positive tone, which adds to their appeal.
Their review is supplemented by a compare function/mode. which could quickly expose the warts on a particular camera (or any product). This graphically compares the pros, cons, advantages, disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses of similar products from two or more mfrs. At a glance, this comparison instantly flags the differences between two products and is a clever and useful way for DPR to give an accurate review without sounding biased, but still flag a camera's downside.
( Adorama/B&H has a similar method to portray this but for them the motivation is different .
So, I am merely saying someone may not like this type of reviewing, which leads us back to Amazon. After decades in business I find that their explanation to be problematic. Press releases and announcements are obviously meant to be affirmative and portray the company in a favorable light. I am however curious why Amazon would discard a seemingly valuable asset such as DPR, whose review section should be very profitable with reasonably skilled management. Why didn't they just sell it? Amazon may be completely truthful in their profitability reason but it makes me uneasy, based on experiences I have observed and the potential that DPR might possess.
For example, let's say a company has several divisions and Division A consists of four operating units and three return a profit of 10% and one unit contributes 2%. Division B on the other hand has four units and each one is breaking even, contributing zero %. The company then transfers the two percenter from Div A to Div B. The company's press release proudly announces that Divisions A and B have both become more profitable. Hoorah!!! But what really happened?? This example is obviously an oversimplification but the principle remains the same. The real reasons may be obscure.
So, basically what I am saying is that I question Amazon's explanation of why they discarded a well respected business that should be profitable if skillfully managed. Who knows the real reasons, but it would not surprise me to see DPR revived in a pay for play subscription service.
Sorry for the long dissertation but the DPR situation can be very complex with multiple visible and invisible factors in play.
You make a lot of very good points, also raise some great questions.
Hypothesis only...........
Amazon is cutting costs massively across the whole board, and is under pressure to increase revenue and profitably as are other major company giants around the world.
The increase in profitability and revenue comes from volume growth, margin, cost cutting.
Growth can come from innovation, new technology, acquisition.
All the for mentioned require hard decisions, a war chest, or access to abundant finical resources often being shareholders, to attract shareholders you need to be seen as growing or profitable.
DP Review despite being an excellent/brilliant much loved product, is to Amazon no more than selling off some surplus capital equipment, a bit like shutting down a video store in a declining industry, hard to sell the store, so closing is a better option. Who knows.
Also the camera reviewing market is heavily saturated especially on U TUBE, so being niche is become very critical as has revenue.
Was there an attempt to sell DP review, just shutting it down speaks volumes.
There is a lot going on here that we don't probably know about, but we just have to accept cost cutting seems the most plausible explanation, and these giants don't care for anything other than bottom line and share value, for the workers one day you have a job the next you don't, hey that's the world we have built.
I am seeing this with other major organizations, Air lines, banks etc, they are all drastically cutting costs, rationalizing, changing, adapting and focused on profitability, the big are getting bigger the small are getting out, i even see it with the giants of camping gear industry recently.
Could it be DP is shutdown, everyone goes and joins Peta Pixel, hence you draw in a few other like products, innovate, bingo, you have a consolidated profitable product, nice but i think that's not really a play here, for two reason,
1) The camera industry as we know is has been declining.
2) There are so many new young geeks doing reviews on phones phone cameras, drones, and all sorts of gear, its just overwhelming, also companies are now doing video and product reviews on so many of their own goods.
I love DP review, and the boys for what they have been doing, i feel they are nothing but a major asset going to Peta Pixel.
I do understand and feel going forward things will be a little tough and rocky, so many people are trimming costs and personal expenses, you now need almost a $50 note to do what a $20 note did 5 years ago, this is the feelings of many.
My neighbor with 3 kids and a husband, shopping bill has gone for $275 to $500 a week, in other cases fuel now is the largest cost next to a mortgage that has in cases doubled in repayments, this has to pipeline to the Amazon's and E bays of the world.
Remember its not just the the rich, powerful, and big that survive, its more the adaptable.
Only an opinion
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