Prime Video, India’s entertainment platform, participated in a panel session themed “The Digital Media Explosion: India’s Next Growth Story” at CII Big Picture Summit 2025. This session explored how digital ventures are redefining content creation, distribution and audience engagement. Moderated by Gunjan Soni, co-chair, CII National Council on Media & Entertainment and country managing director, YouTube India, the panel included Shilangi Mukherji, director & head of SVOD business at Prime Video India, along with LV Krishnan, chief executive officer, TAM Media Research; Neeraj Roy, managing director, Hungama Digital Entertainment; and Darryl Vaz, senior director – product and program management, LTIMindtree.
The conversation started with Gunjan asking the panellists about the steps—technological, regulatory, or talent-driven—that need to be taken to create value for India’s digital customers. Responding to this, Shilangi explained that in a multilingual country like India, with mobile-first behaviour and increasing living-room viewing patterns, services must be designed around how consumers live and consume content. She highlighted how Prime Video has created a personalised streaming experience for every user, moving from broadcast to unicast. “Streaming services globally have created access and discoverability of content and a wide selection of content,” she added.
On being asked about Prime Video’s strategy to drive the next wave of adoption and shape the Indian market, Shilangi outlined a three-part approach. First, she spoke about the impact of a tiered subscription strategy, noting that it democratises content. Prime Video also programmes for diverse customer cohorts, with diversity spanning demographics, age, gender, contexts of viewing, and affordability levels. Amazon Prime has introduced multiple subscription options tailored to India’s economic diversity, including Prime Lite, Prime Shopping Edition, and Prime subscription that offers all benefits.
Second, she spoke about the diversity of creators and talent that Prime Video works with, and how that supports diversity in storytelling. “It’s no more a hegemony of a few studios, but it gives the opportunity for a lot of people to have a seat at the table and have their voice heard, have their stories be told in a meaningful and relevant manner,” she said. At Prime Video, over 65 per cent of Originals in development and production feature new talent either in front of or behind the camera and this number continues to grow.
Next, she highlighted the importance of offering the right content mix across formats. This spans scripted long-form storytelling, with series including Mirzapur, The Family Man, and Panchayat delivering multi-season success; and unscripted shows, where Prime Video has seen breakthroughs with The Traitors and the celebrity talk show Two Much with Kajol and Twinkle. “We are opening up newer formats at scale because unscripted has always been big on broadcast,” she said. Movies are another area where Prime Video is balancing mass reach with content tailored for digital audiences. This includes direct-to-service premieres, Originals produced for both streaming and theatrical release, co-productions with theatrical debuts, and films arriving on the service after their theatrical run.
Finally, she emphasised the role of devices in driving engagement. With a shift toward living-room viewing, she noted that while mobile phones remain essential, true engagement comes from customers choosing to watch series and movies on larger screens, especially when viewing with others. She also highlighted Prime Video’s role as a video entertainment marketplace, with Movie Rentals and add-on subscriptions enabling access to diverse content through a single device and simple payment method, expanding selection and accessibility. “Overall, when you look at content creation, access, devices, and distribution together, it positions us strongly. Today, Prime Video receives viewership from 99 per cent of the pin codes in India. But it’s still day one for us,” she said.
When asked to envision the industry’s future, she added, “Content is India’s soft power, and it comes on the back of culture building. If I had a crystal ball, for me it will be two parts. The first is how India can be the window to the world when it comes to storytelling. We are at the cusp of change, where our content can travel just as Korean content has travelled, just as Turkish content has travelled all over the world. We have to break those boundaries, and I feel that is the crystal ball that I love to gaze on. The second is the large opportunity size for entertainment in India. From a streaming perspective, how can it be the first port of call for every customer when it comes to entertainment.”
