We want to give a 360-degree entertainment, says MX Player CEO Karan Bedi
According to Nasscom, the Indian gaming market is expected to touch $1.1 Bn by 2020
For video streaming, MX Player has collaborated with content creators like TVF, Dice Media and others
After being named as the most popular video streaming app in India by San Francisco-based mobile app research firm App Annie, Times Internet-owned OTT platform MX Player is upping the ante by becoming a multi-model entertainment app. The company plans to expand into gaming, music and international markets.
The other top video streaming app listed in the App Annie’s report includes Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and JioTV.
Karan Bedi, the CEO of MX Player told ET that the company, which had launched its music streaming app six months back, is now looking to launch games on its platform. “We want to give a 360-degree entertainment,” he added.
Inc42 reached out to MX Player to get more details about its new launch, however, the CEO of MX Player was unavailable for comment.
MX Player Foraying Into Gaming
According to a Nasscom, the Indian gaming market is expected to reach 628 Mn users and will be worth $1.1 Bn by 2020. The report further stated that among all the emerging markets, India is the largest in terms of downloads with over 2.8 Bn game downloads in the first half of 2018.
Bedi said that 80% of MX Player users fall below the age of 35. Moreover, 75% of them are male, and 55% of them are from outside metro cities. He further said that gaming has become mainstream in India after data and mobile penetration has increased massively. “It can achieve a significant scale in the coming years,” he asserted.
In October 2019, MX Player raised $110 Mn (INR 775 Cr) funding from Tencent and its parent entity. At that time, the company said that it will be using the funds in developing original content, expand into international markets and invest in new ventures like gaming. This was the first external investment after its acquisition from Times Internet, where it acquired a majority of the stake for $144 Mn from Chinese mobile gaming company Zenjoy in 2018.
Multi-Model Application In The Making
The South Korea-based video playback application was launched in 2011. The popularity of the app among Android users rose and was downloaded over 500 Mn times by 2018.
Following the acquisition, Times Internet added music streaming supported by Gaana to its brand new avatar of MX Player. For video streaming, the company collaborated with content creators like TVF, Dice Media and YouTube channels. In February 2019, MX Player launched its original web series, including Aafat, Hey Prabhu, TVF’s ImMature, Lots of Love (Tamil & Telugu) and Famously Filmfare in likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other OTT players. Unlike other paid OTT platforms, MX Player is free and generates revenue from digital-video advertisements.
Currently, MX Player claims to have around 280 Mn monthly active users globally across 200 countries. In India, it claims to have more than 175 Mn monthly active users. It’s OTT platform is in beta stages in various countries, including the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
