Split screen: Why Amazon has a twin-track streaming play in India

Mint

4 days ago

MUMBAI: While global streamers consolidate into super apps, Amazon is doing the opposite in India. It is running two distinct platforms, Prime Video and MX Player, each catering to sharply different user bases.
'India is a highly heterogeneous market. Prime Video serves customers who are subscription-ready and have adopted streaming as their primary entertainment option,' Gaurav Gandhi, vice president – Asia Pacific & MENA, Prime Video, said while speaking at the Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS) 2025 in Bali on Thursday.
'MX Player, on the other hand, targets a more transitional audience — mobile-first users who are still anchored in traditional media but seeking quality content without the barrier of a paywall.'
Amazon acquired MX Player from Times Internet in 2023 and has since integrated it as an ad-supported service under the Amazon umbrella, while continuing to scale its subscription-led flagship, Prime Video.
Prime Video positions itself as a full-fledged entertainment hub, offering premium originals, global content, movie rentals, and third-party channels. MX Player operates in the ad-supported space, targeting scale and reach across Bharat, with a reported 250 million monthly users. This separation, Gandhi said, enables Amazon to serve both ends of India's digital consumption spectrum — from immersive cinematic storytelling to daily on-the-go escapes.
Nikhil Madhok, head of originals at Prime Video India, who oversees Prime Video's local original content, said the company has always focused on delivering content that is not just localised but also deeply differentiated from what's on television.
'Our investment levels are closer to cinema than TV. The idea was always to create content that could hold its own alongside global shows like Fallout or The Boys,' he said while speaking at the event.
Series like Made in Heaven, The Family Man, Paatal Lok, and Call Me Bae have become multi-season franchises, building loyalty and scale over time.
On the film front, Prime Video's model spans licensing, direct-to-streaming, co-productions and, most recently, theatrical releases. 'We started with licensing post-theatrical releases, then direct-to-streaming during the pandemic, and later co-productions,' Madhok said.
'Now, through Amazon MGM Studios, we've entered the theatrical space directly. Starting 2026, we will release four to six Amazon-produced films in theatres each year, beginning with Nishaanchi by Anurag Kashyap this September.'
For MX Player, the content strategy is driven by deep consumer insights from a vast and socio-culturally diverse base, said Amogh Dusad, head of content at Amazon MX Player.
The biggest upcoming bet from MX Player is MX Fatafat — a micro-drama vertical format series aimed squarely at India's mobile-first audience. With episodes clocking in at 1–2 minutes and designed to be consumed in short bursts across 80–100 episodes per story, the new format is built for scroll-happy viewers.
Despite differences in platform logic, Gandhi emphasised that both services share a common creator-first philosophy. 'We've been very deliberate in bringing new voices to the fore — more than 50% of Prime Video's projects have first-time creators involved,' he said. 'With MX Fatafat, we're co-creating with emerging talent. This kind of intentionality helps grow the creative economy and expand the total addressable market for storytellers.'
Amazon has also added an ad-supported tier to Prime Video in India and Japan — a move Gandhi said allows the platform to reinvest more into content while giving consumers choice. Early signs show traction with both consumers and advertisers, especially when combined with Amazon's wider full-funnel ad solutions across e-commerce and video.
While most rivals consolidate, Amazon is choosing fragmentation and this may be its edge in a crowded and noisy market.
Even as global content budgets shrink, Amazon is doubling down on India. 'We feel optimistic about the streaming landscape,' Gandhi said. 'It's still early days. Whether it's theatrical releases, multi-language originals, or short-form innovations — there's significant headroom for growth.'
Globally, Prime Video has around 200 million paid memberships as of February 2025, and while the company doesn't disclose geographical data, various industry sources put India subscriber base between 11 million and 13 million.
Amazon MX Player, reaches over 250 million monthly unique users, securing its place among the largest AVOD players in the country.
India's OTT market, valued at approximately $3.5 billion in 2024, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 17% for the rest of the decade.