MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video, the OTT streaming service of Amazon Inc, which recently its first foray into live sports in India, with the acquisition of India territory rights for New Zealand Cricket, has confirmed much bigger ambitions, going forward.
“Expanding into a space which the country loves makes sense,” Gaurav Gandhi, Amazon Prime Video’s country manager, told the Financial Times, adding that the company would weigh further opportunities to secure cricket rights.
“You have to work for the rights structures, when the rights are available and so on,” he said. “I do feel that it does add an interesting dimension to our overall offerings… We’re happy to look at each individual opportunity that goes by.”
In India, Disney’s dominance of big ticket cricket rights has helped propel it to the top of the streaming market. As of December 2, Disney+ Hotstar subscribers in India stood at 26 million. This is a rapid jump from the 18.5 million paid subscriber base that Disney+ Hotstar had as of September. The platform added roughly 7.5 million paid subscribers in two months, the strong subscriber acquisitions driven by the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was held in the UAE from September 19–November 10.
“With a rapidly growing middle class, India is a promising market opportunity and we are uniquely positioned to succeed in the country due to our existing presence with Star TV and Hotstar,” Disney International Operations and Direct-to-Consumer segment chairman Rebecca Campbell had asserted at Disney’s 2020 Investor Day event last week. Disney+ Hotstar, which was launched in India in April and in Indonesia in September, was built on Hotstar, the streaming service operated by Star India that Disney inherited when it acquired 21st Century Fox.
Disney’s rights to the two biggest prizes, the Indian Premier League and BCCI cricket, expire in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Amazon Prime Video this month released a sports documentary series ‘Sons of the Soil’, based on the 2018-19 Pro Kabbadi League season journey of the team Jaipur Pink Panthers. PKL delivers the highest television ratings after the IPL.
“We’re here, we’re really serious and we’re committed to the long term,” Vijay Subramaniam, Amazon Prime Video’s head of India content, told FT. “It’s moving in the direction that we’re very happy with.”
Related Reports
Amazon Prime enters India live sports arena with 6-yr NZC deal
Amazon Prime Video sub-licenses NZC part rights to FanCode
Disney ties future to streaming; IPL ups Disney+ Hotstar sub nos
‘Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers’ docuseries’ teaser drops
