India: You will see ads on Prime Video from 2025
What's the story
Amazon's Prime Video, one of the top streaming platforms in India, has announced plans to add advertisements into its content from next year. The move is part of Amazon's larger effort to fund content investments, in India's fast-growing and highly competitive streaming market. The company has promised that the number of ads will be "meaningfully fewer" than other streaming services and TV channels.
Alternative
Amazon to offer ad-free option too
Along with bringing ads, Amazon has also announced plans for an ad-free version of Prime Video. The pricing details of this option will be revealed later. The announcement comes as India's streaming market is witnessing a major consolidation, with big players like Reliance and Disney battling for supremacy.
Market focus
Amazon's strategic investment in India's streaming market
The Reliance-Disney merger, worth $8.5 billion, is expected to lure almost half of India's streaming users, according to data analytics firm Comscore. In the face of this competition and the promise of India's 1.4 billion consumers, Amazon has been steadily investing in its Indian platform while pulling back in other markets.
Significance
India: A key market for Prime Video
Notably, Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President at Prime Video, had emphasized India's importance back in March. He had said that more people have been subscribing to Amazon Prime in India, than anywhere else in the world over the past few years. In the US, Amazon has already introduced ads on its streaming service, a move that is expected to generate $5 billion in revenues this year.