Amazon takes the Bollywood route, to add Prime customers

Amazon has signed a long-term deal with Karan Johar’s production company, Dharma Productions, to bring the latest Bollywood movies to its Prime customers.

Prime is the premium service it is building in the country to attract more customers and take on local rival Flipkart.

In the US, Amazon has been able to get nearly half of all households to subscribe to Prime, which offers exclusive movies and shows, quick deliveries at no cost and early access to deals. These customers spend $1,100 yearly on an average — twice as much as a non-Prime user.

Amazon is looking at replicating this model in the country as it expands its presence and attempts to overtake Flipkart.

In this attempt, Amazon will also compete with Netflix, which has launched its services, and Hotstar, the streaming service of STAR India. It has also cut a similar deal with Mahesh Bhatt- and Mukesh Bhattowned Vishesh Films.

“We have kept a close eye on the explosion of digital media, and the increased consumption trends of Bollywood content on video-on-demand and over-thetop platforms,” said Apoorva Mehta, chief executive officer, Dharma Productions, in a statement. “We at Dharma felt that the time couldn’t be more right for us to mark our presence on such sought-after platforms.”

Apart from making available upcoming movies, Amazon Prime Video will also feature older films from the production house.

Amazon, Netflix and Hotstar are all looking to tap the growing base of internet users in India to sell content to on a subscription model.