Amazon launches 'Prime Video Channels' in India; "Want customers to spend more time watching than searching": Chaitanya Divan

Amazon Prime Video Channels is a value-added service offered by Prime Video through which subscribers can access content streaming on other OTT platforms within the Prime Video interface, albeit, after paying for the subscription.

Amazon announces the launch of Prime Video Channels in India. It is a marketplace through which rivalling video-on-demand streaming platforms can distribute their content and bill customers. Prime Video Channels is a value-added service within the prime video app. Subscribers can access content from partnering platforms within the same interface.

To start with, Amazon Prime Channels will have content from discovery+ (Rs 299/year), Docubay (Rs 499/year), Eros Now (Rs 299/year), hoichoi (Rs. 599/ year) Lionsgate Play (Rs 699/year), Manorama Max (Rs. 699/year), MUBI (Rs 1999/year), Shorts TV (Rs 299/year) available on the platform. "We are closely working with other platforms to have their content available," says Chaitanya Divan, Head Prime Video Channels, Amazon Prime Video.

The subscribers, however, will have to subscribe to the partnering OTT platform at a special price. Divan feels, globally we are living in the golden age of content, "Any movie one wants to watch or a show from anywhere in the world, Original... it is available across different services. But, when you want to watch something is when you run into some challenges," he says.

Explaining, "Say, you want to watch a specific movie, you will have to jump from one app to another to figure out where is this movie available. Then register, pay and subscribe to get access to the content. After you have done all that, you might find out that this service is not available on your other devices (TAB/SmartTV/Google Home...). You also have to remember the password. Amazon Prime Video Channels is an offering to make entertainment hassle-free," adds Divan.

Once subscribed and accessed through Prime Video Channels, the subscribers will be able to use Prime Video tools like X-ray, watch-list while consuming partner content too. Globally, Prime Video Channels was launched five years back and it has signed partnership deals with more than 350 players. The observation is that this service helps Prime Video grow the average "time spent" per user on the platform.

Divan says Amazon is targeting all Prime Video users across pin-codes with its new service. "With this, we are offering wider selection and a high level of convenience. We want customers to spend more time watching than searching," he asserts.

“At Amazon, we have always focused on improving access, experience and selection for our customers,” says Gaurav Gandhi, Country Manager, Amazon Prime Video, India. Over the last four years, he adds, Prime Video has continuously "strived" to entertain and delight customers by programming in 10 languages, making available Exclusive and Original content from India and around the world and by ensuring a world-class streaming experience across screens.

"All of this has made Amazon Prime Video the most loved premium streaming service with viewership from 99% of India’s pin-codes. With the launch of Prime Video Channels, we now take the next big step in our journey to entertain India by creating a video entertainment marketplace – first of its kind in India – which will not only delight our customers by giving them even more entertainment choices but also benefit the OTT Channel partners who collaborate with us to leverage Prime Video’s distribution, reach and tech infrastructure.”