Amazon Prime to invest in local content, expand reach

India is among the fastest growing markets for Amazon Prime Video (APV) globally, and the content streaming platform is focussing its investments on bringing more content and expanding the service to a larger audience in the country, a top company official said.

APV, which has recently partnered with Airtel to bring a mobile-only plan (a global first) for Indian users, competes with platforms like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Zee5 and others in the country.

"We've been in the country for the last four years and growing very steadily...APV is watched in over 4,300 cities and towns in the country, and India is amongst the fastest growing markets for Prime and APV. Our investments in content across 10 languages, both originals and films, have helped us," Amazon Prime Video India Director and Country General Manager Gaurav Gandhi told PTI.

The company does not disclose country-specific subscriber numbers. While previously, APV service was bundled with the Prime offering of the e-commerce giant, the latest partnership with Airtel will allow prepaid users of the telecom major to watch APV content as a standalone offering.

Streaming services have had multiple tailwinds that have fuelled its growth in India over the past few years. Factors like affordable data, ubiquitous availability of mobile phones and engaging content have driven adoption of these services, especially among the millennials.

Even though living room TV consumption continues to grow strongly, mobile phones remain a dominant medium for people to access content with an estimated 85 per cent of India's internet access being mobile driven.

Gandhi said APV has been investing deeply across Indian language films and shows.

He cited examples of shows like 'Four More Shots Please', 'Paatal Lok', 'Bandish Bandits' and 'Breathe' introduced last year, followed by films like ' Shakuntala Devi', ' Gulabo Sitabo' or 'Coolie No. 1' in the later half of the year.