Amazon takes the Bollywood route, to add Prime customers

Amazon is looking to expands its presence in the country and attempt to overtake local rival Flipkart

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 Bhatt-owned 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-the-top 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.

While Netflix charges Rs 499 for its base plan in India, Amazon will charge double that, while also giving subscribers access to free one- and two-day shipping for products they buy on its e-commerce platform and access to exclusive deals.

Amazon is also looking at similar partnerships with film and television producers and is also working with artistes and producers for exclusive content on their platforms.

The firm has also poached Tamagna Ghosh, who headed creative marketing services at Walt Disney Studios.

“Would be championing the creation of creative assets for some of the award winning Amazon US Originals and exclusive Amazon India Originals soon,” Ghosh has written on his LinkedIn account.

Providing local content has been driver even for the world’s most-valuable company, Apple. It has launched a Rs 120-per-month music-streaming service, Apple Music, to woo more customers in the country — the next big market for its flagship iPhone.

With internet penetration on the rise and a large base of India’s population not having access to cable television yet, on-demand streaming services are expected to make a huge impact. For film and television producers, services such as Netflix provide an opportunity to earn revenues which might have otherwise been lost to piracy.