In order to bolster its share of the massive Indian streaming market – now dominated by JioStar – Amazon is operating two platforms in parallel: Prime Video and Amazon MX Player.

The two-pronged strategy was explained today at the APOS Convention in Bali by Gaurav Gandhi, VP, Asia Pacific & MENA, Amazon Prime Video; Nikhil Madhok, head of originals, India; and Amogh Dusad, director &head of content, Amazon MX Player.

“We know that consumers have different needs and see the two platforms as addressing that by covering the spectrum,” said Gandhi.

“Prime Video is for those who have made conscious choice to have subscription entertainment.
MX player for those not yet committed.”

There are other key differences. Prime Video skews towards premium content, series and movies, while MX leans more into genre shows and unscripted entertainment.

“Amazon MX Player is the only platform curating exclusively for AVOD. Our task is creating engagement,” said Dusad.

MX Player was originally developed by South Korea’s J2 Interactive as a multimedia player. In 2018 majority control was acquired by Times Internet, which relaunched it as an India-specific streamer. Following the growth of deeper-pocketed rivals in a highly price-sensitive market, MX Player was sold to Amazon in October last year.

Amazon MX Player’s original shows include: “Aashram,” “Dharavi Bank” and “Campus Diaries,” while also carrying imported titles in Korean, Mandarin and Turkish dubbed into local Indian languages.

In terms of customer access, Amazon MX Player considers itself as a mobile-first platform, though users now have access through mobile apps, Amazon’s shopping app, Prime Video, Fire TV and connected TVs.

Amazon MX Player, then, is also likely to be the vector for the group’s push into Chinese-style micro dramas. “These are for consumers with short attention spans, such as commuters. And innovation will be needed. [Micro dramas] involve more than an 80-100 minute story that is edited into shorter segments. These require unlearning. And different screenplays,” said Dusad.

Madhok said that Prime Video needed its Indian content to be as compelling as the international content on the platform.

He used the APOS stage to re-emphasise a recent commitment to backing original feature movies in India that will first receive offline theatrical releases.

The company recently announced the Anurag Kashyap-directed crime drama, “Nishaanchi”, as the first. It will open in theatres in September. The company expects to do the same with 4-6 films next year.

Madhok explained the evolution, driven by an attempt to address a pan-Indian audience and involved dubbing and subtitling in multiple languages. This process started with acquired movies released a few weeks after theatrical, followed by direct-to-streaming movies, especially during the pandemic, and then Amazon original movies with some of India's larger production houses and filmmakers.

"What I'm most excited about is what we're doing now as part of Amazon MGM Studios, where we are creating our own very exciting, movie slate," he said. – By Patrick Frater