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
JioStar revenue hits Rs 9,784 crore as cricket fuels 22 per cent growth
A surge in digital viewership and sports dominance fuels a blockbuster quarter for the media giant
MUMBAI: JioStar is batting on a flat pitch. The media titan’s fourth-quarter results for the financial year 2026 reveal a business scaling new heights, propelled by an unprecedented appetite for premium sports and digital-first storytelling.
Gross revenue for the quarter soared by 22.15 per cent to Rs 9,784 crore, up from Rs 8,010 crore in the third quarter. Operationally, the momentum was equally strong; revenue from operations climbed 21 per cent to Rs 8,372 crore. These figures underscore the firm’s successful integration following the Reliance and Disney merger, creating a dominant force in the Indian market.
The annual performance has been nothing short of a spectacle. Full-year gross revenue reached a massive Rs 36,248 crore, while annual profit after tax hit Rs 3,210 crore. This rapid expansion reflects JioStar’s ability to capture and monetise the massive growth in India’s media consumption.
Cricket proved to be the ultimate growth engine. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and TATA IPL 2026 delivered “record-breaking viewership” across both television and digital screens. The World Cup final alone drew a global peak concurrency of 72.5 million on JioHotstar, cementing its status as the nation’s premier streaming destination. On television, JioStar maintained a commanding 34.2 per cent viewership share, reaching a staggering 810 million viewers nationwide.
The digital numbers were just as impressive. JioHotstar averaged 500 million monthly active users, driven by consistent subscriber growth and innovative AI-led content discovery tools. These advancements are ensuring that JioStar remains at the cutting edge of the global “Race for Attention.”
With a firm grip on the country’s most valuable sporting rights and a rapidly growing digital footprint, JioStar is perfectly positioned for the future. It has built the ultimate content powerhouse—one that is ready to dominate the Indian living room for years to come.
