In a panel discussion at APOS Bali (Indonesia) 2025, created and curated by Media Partners Asia (MPA), Gaurav Gandhi, Vice President, Asia Pacific and MENA, Prime Video, Nikhil Madhok, Director and Head of Originals, Prime Video, India, and Amogh Dusad, Director and Head of Content, Amazon MX Player, shared their views on Amazon’s strategy of having two different streaming services in India.
During the panel discussion, moderated by Vivek Couto, Managing and Executive Director, Media Partners Asia, Gandhi talked about the two-platform strategy behind two distinct streaming platforms, SVOD-led Prime Video and AVOD-led Amazon MX Player in India, stating, “India is a really heterogeneous and diverse country with customers having very different needs. Both the services address two different sets of customers – Prime Video caters to customers who are subscription-ready, who have actually transitioned to streaming as their first choice or the only choice of entertainment. While Amazon MX Player is aimed at customers who are now transitioning from traditional media – TV or are still on it, but are not subscription-ready yet, though they are seeking high-quality premium content.”
He further explained that Prime Video enjoys strong penetration on living room devices, while Amazon MX Player reaches over 250 million users, many of whom access the service on mobile devices and on-the-go. Talking about the content strategy, he highlighted that Prime Video offers premium, high quality, and cinematic Originals, global content, programming in 10 Indian languages.
As an entertainment hub, Prime Video also offers add-on subscriptions to services like Apple TV and many others in addition to movie rentals (TVOD). Amazon MX Player’s content strategy, on the other hand, is centred on scripted dramas, as well as a sharp focus on unscripted content, dubbed content from around the world, and now short-form content.
Elaborating further on Prime Video’s content strategy, Madhok said, “We were very clear from the start that the local content in India had to be highly differentiated from television, but at the same time, when it lands up on the service, sitting next to our international content, it must be equally compelling, if not more. As such, we’ve been very clear about bringing premium, nuanced, segmented, and highly differentiated cinematic quality Originals. So, the investments that we’re making in the production quality for these Originals is way higher than linear television, and closer to cinema. And that’s why we’ve been able to create franchises like Made in Heaven, The Family Man, Paatal Lok, Call Me Bae, amongst others, which have become bigger with every season.”
Madhok also highlighted how Prime Video customers are looking for something a little deeper than surface-level plot lines or simple genres, “That’s why we think very deeply about themes, and not just genres. For example, earlier this year, we launched a horror show called Khauf. However, at its core, it is really about young women and the challenges that they face when they live in large cities. It’s about dealing with and overcoming trauma, with the genre of horror serving as the packaging. Similarly, another important theme is connecting with the roots. A lot of urban audiences living in big cities can sometimes feel a little disconnected with their roots and yearn for simpler times. Originals like Dupahiya and Panchayat do very well because it brings the viewers back to that world and time in their lives.”
He also spoke about the need to segment content and offer customers variety for consumption, in terms of Indian and international content, themes, genres, languages, formats (series and movies), and more.
Talking about Prime Video’s movie strategy that involves licensing, direct-to-service premieres, Original movies, co-productions, and more, Madhok explained Prime Video’s role in taking movies pan-India through localisation. Since 2020, Prime Video has premiered over 65 movies across six languages directly-on-the-service, while continuing to focus on licensing movies for streaming premieres post their theatrical release.
Over the past few years, Prime Video has also co-produced movies with leading Indian studios, premiering them first in theatres, as well as produced Original movies for streaming. “But what I’m most excited about is what we’re doing now as part of Amazon MGM Studios, where we are creating a very exciting theatrical slate,” he added, “These are originally produced movies by Amazon, which will release in theatres directly. We recently announced Nishaanchi, directed by Anurag Kashyap, which will be released in theatres this September. I’m happy to share that starting 2026, we will be releasing four to six movies in theatres every single year.”
Dusad elaborated on the content strategy of the service stating, “We obviously acknowledge the vast diversity and multiple cohorts that might exist between the 250 million strong user-base that we have. So, it is a fairly heterogeneous market socio-culturally, and we draw the themes for our content from customer learnings. For example, themes of inspiration and aspiration resonate with customers because these are people who really want to go up the socio-economic ladder, and rags-to-riches stories or content about an underdog’s journey strike a chord with their lives. Similarly, we have a franchise called Hustler, which actually delves into the start-up hustle culture, and that resonates a lot with young customers. Content that can help customers escape the day-to-day life and mundanity of everyday routine works well too, whether it’s from any form of a large show like Aashram, which has had more than 200 million streamers in the country, or through the international dubbed content that we are localising, which gives viewers a window into a different world, and effectively serves that need of escapism that they seek.”
Amogh also explained how Amazon MX Player is intentional about the cadence with which the service launches new shows, and also aims at bringing new seasons of franchises to customers sooner than other streaming services.
At the session, Amogh announced that Amazon MX Player would be launching MX Fatafat, micro-dramas meant for today’s mobile-first audiences. On the vision and strategy behind this, he shared that the evolution in storytelling needs innovation not just in narrative but in format. Many viewers primarily use mobile devices, seeking quick entertainment during brief moments throughout their day. That’s where MX Fatafat-serialised stories told in short, one-to-two-minute episodes, with 80 to 100 episodes per series, in vertical format-comes in. “MX Fatafat is a fresh approach, requiring unique writing and production methods, and we are looking forward to launching it later this year,” he added.
Addressing the question on whether Amazon approaches creator partnerships differently for Prime Video and Amazon MX Player, Gandhi shared, “Supporting the creative economy in India is very intentional on our part across Prime Video and Amazon MX Player – whether it was about building cinematic long-form storytelling in India, which didn’t actually exist, to actually bringing learnings from around the world to better equip our partners, to even thinking about how we can get new creators and technicians on shows – over 50% of Prime Video’s originals in development and production feature new talent either in front of or behind the camera. One of our big successes this year, Dupahiya came from absolutely new, first-time creators, so the intentionality is really important.”
He also explained how taking Indian content to pan-India and global audiences has actually helped increase the Total Addressable Market for storytellers. He emphasised that with MX Fatafat, Amazon MX Player is unlocking a new wave of first-time creators by actively co-creating content with emerging talent.
Talking about content investments, Gandhi shared that Amazon remains optimistic about the overall streaming landscape in the country and is continuing to invest in content through Prime Video and Amazon MX Player. Looking ahead, he shared, Amazon sees significant opportunities in both, ad-supported and subscription-based services, emphasising that it is still early days for streaming in India.
