Amazon Launches Mobile-Only Plan For Prime Video In India

Amazon’s streaming service Prime Video has launched a mobile-only plan in India which will cost INR 599 per year. Indian users can opt for the plan, Prime Video Mobile Edition, via the Prime Video app on Android or its website.

Created especially for a mobile-first country like India, Prime Video Mobile Edition is a major step towards making premium entertainment across languages as ubiquitous as smartphones in the country, the company said in a statement.

Last year, Prime Video launched the Prime Video Mobile Edition as a telco-partnered product in collaboration with Bharti Airtel. The plan cost INR 89 onwards for Bharti Airtel customers. With the partnership, India became the first market where the streaming service offered a mobile-only plan. 

The mobile-only plan is a single-user plan with standard definition (SD) quality streaming to customers.

 “Over the last six years we have seen a huge growth for Prime Video in India. With viewers from 99% of the country’s pin codes, the service has become the preferred destination for premium content,” Gaurav Gandhi, vice president of Prime Video India, said.

This plan saw good response from Indian consumers when it was launched via a telecom association last year, Gandhi said. “Building on that success we are extending its access, with it now being made available directly for subscription through Prime Video’s app and website,” he added. 

Prime Video’s international rival Netflix was the first streaming service to bring a mobile-only plan in India. In 2019, Netflix launched a mobile-only subscription plan at INR 199 in India, and the price was later reduced to INR 149 per month.

According to Kelly Day, vice president, International, Prime Video, India is one of the fastest growing and most engaged locales worldwide for the streaming service.  

“Our success in the country can be attributed to innovations that are focused on creating an exceptional entertainment experience for customers. In fact, India is turning into an innovation hub for Prime Video,” Day said.

The Mobile Edition is now being rolled out across multiple countries in Latin America and South East Asia. Day expressed hope that the new annual plan would further help accelerate the growth of its India business.

Amazon Prime competes with the likes of Disney+Hotstar, Netflix, MX Player, Voot and Zee5, among others, in the crowded OTT market in India.

According to a Deloitte report, India will have 1 Bn smartphone users by 2026, with rural areas driving the sale of internet-enabled phones. The number of mobile subscribers in the country stood at 1.2 Bn in 2021, of which 750 Mn were smartphone users.

The overall OTT space in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 20% to reach $13 Bn−$15 Bn over the next decade. The Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) market is expected to grow to $2.1 Bn from $0.8 Bn currently over the same period.