I thought Amazon did a good job with Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series, which was a more sprawling affair than Tolkien's collective work. The first season was the first book with some elements added in from the other books. The second season starts later this year.
Very few people are "really dialed in on J.R.R.'s fantasy world." That's why Peter Jackson and Amazon could take artistic liberties with the source material. The people who are "really dialed in" are the ones who bitch the loudest.
Big pipes like this are for allowing multiple devices to operate simultaneously. I had to break the bad news to a friend that he was paying extra for extra bandwidth that he would never be able to use on a single device.
I dropped business cards for fishbowl contests at conventions. When they call me, I ask what prize did I win. They're always annoyed that I wanted a prize than to do business with them.