iWorld
Amazon MX Player touts content, commerce, and context in India’s free streaming revolution
MUMBAI: Amazon MX Player director & head Karan Bedi took centre stage at Goafest 2025 to make a bold case for India’s free streaming economy-and how advertisers must rethink reach in a post-TV world. His keynote, ‘Free Streaming Revolution: Premium Content, Unique Audience Signals & Measurable Outcomes’, laid out a data-backed blueprint for brand success in the age of immersive digital video.
“Video streaming is the number one activity on smartphones in India”, Bedi said, pointing out it now outranks social media and messaging-even in tier two and tier three cities. Unlike the scattergun attention of UGC platforms, he argued, streaming provides a deeply engaged environment: “When customers are immersed in content, they’re immersed in ads too”.
Digital video advertising in India, he predicted, will surpass television advertising within the next year. “We’re at the cusp”, Bedi noted, adding that advertisers need to pivot their budgets accordingly.
At the heart of Amazon MX Player’s pitch were three pillars—differentiated reach, differentiated content, and contextual ad solutions. With 1.4 billion downloads globally and 250 million monthly active users in India, MX Player offers what Bedi called “very large and very relevant reach”. Over 50 per cent of its users fall within the Sec A and Sec B segments, and nearly 17 per cent of its audience is exclusive to the platform—unduplicated by either UGC platforms or rival streamers.
Importantly, MX Player content remains stable even during large cricketing events—a loyalty metric most platforms can’t match. Bedi credited this to “immersive and relevant storytelling”, backed by data and refined through feedback. The content slate spans drama, romance, dubbed international shows, reality series, and experimental formats like ‘micro-dramas’—bite-sized one to two-minute episodes. More than 100 new shows are planned for 2025, including Rise and Fall, Hunter, and Made in India.
Bedi made a compelling argument for MX Player’s ability to go beyond impressions and deliver brand impact. Using trillions of Amazon shopping signals, the platform enables hyper-targeted ad segmentation—right down to behavioural personas like “health-conscious young parents”. Such targeting, he claimed, leads to 33 per cent higher ad completion and up to 20 per cent stronger brand metrics.
Ad formats range from integrated product showcases and immersive branding to story-embedded placements within shows. “We can help you move from awareness to action”, Bedi said, highlighting Amazon’s full-funnel capabilities—advertisers can run awareness campaigns on MX Player and follow up with conversion targeting on Amazon’s shopping app, or vice versa.
He closed with a rallying cry to marketers: “It’s still day one at Amazon”. With India’s digital video frontier heating up, Bedi’s message was clear—brands that stream smart will sell smarter.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
