iWorld
Amazon Prime to explore sports genre & catch-up TV
MUMBAI: Prime subscribers in India are in for a treat. Nearly a year after preparations, American e-commerce giant has finally launched its Prime Video service in India. At an introductory price of Rs 499 a year (Rs 42month) and a month’s free trial as reported by Indiantelevision earlier, Amazon Prime Video gives users access to latest Hollywood movies, Bollywood blockbusters, TV shows, Amazon original series and kids’ programming. For those who already have an Amazon Prime subscription, they get video streaming as well for no extra charge.
As many as nine original programs have been produced with the first slated to launch early next year and nine under production. Its original series are produce by Ram Madhwani, Prasoon Joshi, All India Bakchod (AIB), Vikram Malhotra, OML, Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, amongst others.
The subscription based video-on-demand service is now available in 200 territories. With learnings from its other markets and the lavish content portfolio, one can ensure that it is here to stay.
“For now, the number of international shows will be slightly greater than the ones produced in India. As we get into this, the ratio of Indian content will get higher and higher. After the US and Japan, India is the third country wherein we are betting high,” said Amazon Prime APAC head of content James Farrell.
Given the huge appetite for sports content in India and the lack of sports content being offered by the current OTT platforms, abreast its current offering, the service might also look at providing compelling sports programming and catch-up television to its customers.
“I perceive that Indian customers want to watch great movies and shows at a decent value and that is what we are providing. Prime is an amazing deal in shopping and watching at an affordable price. We are focused on providing compelling content to our customers. So, today we are announcing licensed movies and TV shows apart from original content and foreign content. Sports is a compelling category for customers and we will consider that,” said Amazon Instant Video International VP Tim Leslie.
As broadcast and digital continue to converge within sport, fans demand more access to content at their fingertips on any device. There is a clear need for the next step in providing customers direct propositions in sports media. Sports federations, leagues and brands are already looking to harness the power of OTT content and the opportunities it offers. The one who adopts first will rule.
“Sports is important for India and we will evaluate it. We will let you know as we decide on sports,” added Amazon Video India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani.
In addition to its current content offering, if there is a demand to provide next day television of their favorite channels in India, the service will definitely look into it.
“Catch-up is one category where we are trying to talk to everybody. So, whether it is movies, kids, sports or catch-up television, if our customers want linear television’ catch-up the next day, we will talk to those channels and look at a partnership. We will definitely explore that,” added Farrell.
“India has one of the richest and most vibrant entertainment industries in the world—Amazon is energized by the talent and the passion of India’s film industry and is excited to be making multiple Indian original shows already, with more to come. We are also making a commitment to our Indian customers to deliver high-quality, binge-worthy shows that they’ll love to watch,” said Amazon Studios VP and head Roy Price.
After tying up with film makers and film studios since September, Amazon Prime’s video content portfolio has 2016’s top Indian and Hollywood blockbusters. It also has top kids shows like Doraemon, Chhota Bheem and Oggy & the Cockroaches and Indian shows like Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, CID and Crime Patrol. Titles like Salman Khan starrer Sultan, Rajnikanth’s Kabali and Hollywood blockbuster Batman vs Superman – Dawn of Justice, has made it to its offering. Its international bouquet includes shows like The Good Wide, Two and a Half Men, Mr. Robot, etc. Many US TV shows will premiere on Prime Video within a day of its broadcast in the US.
“We don’t look to create disruption in the entertainment space but we want to listen to our customers and their needs. We are in a customer revolution in India in the way people watch content in India, which has happened in US, UK and recently in Germany. It is starting to happen in Japan. The customer revolution is that why be bound to watch shows at certain days and time, why do not you watch it wherever and whenever you want to watch. That is very important. Other point is that content creators don’t have to fine huge audience on linear TV. They can make ambitious and ground-breaking shows and find their audience,” voiced Leslie.
Some selected Prime Video international content is also available in dubbed Indian languages and subtitles. In addition to English and Hindi films, the service will also offer regional movies in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi. It also promises movies and TV shows from top Indian and international studios.
“We want to solve customer problems and we took it in three ways – selection, convenience and value. We are focused on getting the widest selection of exclusive and latest content. We want to solve the problem of data usage and too many advertisements playing. All at the same time of shipping guaranteed in one or two days and the best content. We are enablers of the market; we are enablers who want to consume great content, we are enablers of creators who want to create great content without having the constraints of the duration. We want to change the way customers consume and creators create content,” added Kripalani.
It is also looking to offer TVOD in its other prime markets. “We will always look at more ways to watch content. It not just includes devices but more ways to purchase content. So, we want to provide customers lots of choice,” asserted Leslie.
Besides Netflix’ subscription plans which start from Rs 500 and go up to Rs 800 per year, India has online streaming platforms like Star India’s Hotstar with its premium service at Rs 199 per month. Compared to this, YuppTV charges consumers Rs 99 a month whereas Eros Now has a daily pass for Rs 10 and a weekly pass for Rs 30 and a weekend pass for Rs 20. The annual subscription is available for Rs 1,000.
Hooq starting at Rs 199 per month which is popular among movie buffs and Spuul which offers a Premium subscription option in monthly, annual, and multiple smaller packages, along with pay-per-view movies as well.
“Globally, viewership is moving towards VOD and one can also see this increasing adoption of digital video consumption in India too. This has thrown the field open for a lot of players in the country and the entry of Amazon Prime is a welcome and much anticipated move for the VOD space in India. With robust smartphone penetration and the launch of 4G, one can foresee a tectonic shift in consumption that will forever change the entertainment industry. With the entry of the likes of Amazon Prime, the VOD space will be poised for growth as video content will be created and marketed specifically for the web and devices. However content, accessibility and overall user experience will be a game changer for any player to succeed in India. Currently at Spuul we have ~18m users of which 80% consume content on smartphones and we expect this to grow exponentially in 2017. We will continue to execute on our focus of providing the best quality Indian content and superior user experience to the masses, and our upcoming product releases and content additions will reflect that,” said Spuul India CEO Rajiv Vaidya.
Gaming
India’s new online gaming rules take effect today, banning money games and creating a regulator
The rules, in force from today, separate e-sports from gambling and impose jail terms and stiff fines on violators
NEW DELHI: India’s online gaming sector woke up this morning to a new reality. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026, came into force today, May 1st, turning a year of legislative intent into enforceable law. The message from New Delhi is blunt: e-sports and social games are welcome; online money games are not.
The rules operationalise the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, passed by Parliament in August 2025. Together, they represent the most sweeping regulatory intervention India has made in its booming digital gaming market, one that generated Rs 23,200 crore in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11 per cent to reach Rs 31,600 crore by 2027. The stakes, in every sense, could not be higher.
A sector out of control
The urgency behind the legislation is not hard to find. An estimated 45 crore Indians have been affected by online money gaming platforms, with losses exceeding Rs 20,000 crore. Addiction, financial ruin, money laundering, and suicides have all been linked to the sector. Seventy-seven per cent of the market’s revenues came from transaction-based games, a figure that made regulators deeply uneasy.
The government’s response, effective as of today, is categorical. Online money games, whether based on chance, skill, or any mix of the two, are banned outright. So is their advertising, promotion, and facilitation. Banks and payment processors are barred from handling related transactions. Unlawful platforms can be blocked under the Information
Technology Act, 2000.
The penalties are designed to sting. Offering or facilitating online money games can attract up to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore, or both. Repeat offenders face a minimum of three years, extendable to five, with fines between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore. Advertising such games carries up to two years in prison and fines of up to Rs 50 lakh, with repeat violations attracting higher penalties still. Cyber cell officers at state and union territory levels, including at police station, district, and commissionerate levels, are empowered to investigate offences.
The new sheriff in town
At the centre of the new framework sits the Online Gaming Authority of India, a digital-first regulator constituted as an attached office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, headquartered in Delhi. It is chaired by the additional secretary of MeitY and includes joint secretary-level representation from home affairs, finance, information and broadcasting, youth affairs and sports, and law and justice, a deliberately multi-sectoral design built for a complex sector.
The authority’s powers are broad. It will maintain and publish lists of online money games, investigate complaints, issue directions, orders, and codes of practice, hear appeals on user grievances, and coordinate with financial institutions and law enforcement to ensure effective and timely action.
Its decisions on game classification are to be completed within 90 days, a time-bound commitment that industry players have welcomed after years of regulatory ambiguity. Classification can be triggered by the authority acting on its own initiative, by an application from a service provider, or by a notification from the central government. Games will be assessed on objective factors: whether stakes are involved, whether players expect monetary winnings, the revenue model, and whether in-game assets can be monetised outside the game. The outcome is recorded in a determination order specific to the game and provider.
E-sports gets its moment
While the crackdown on money gaming dominates today’s headlines, the rules also carve out a structured path for e-sports and online social games. Registration, required when notified by the central government, applies to all games offered as e-sports and is based on factors including risk to users, scale, financial transactions, and country of origin. A successful application yields a digital certificate of registration with a unique number, valid for up to ten years. Service providers must display registration details, designate a point of contact, comply with data retention requirements, and follow directions on facilitating payments.
Online money games are explicitly ineligible for recognition or registration as e-sports under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. The separation is deliberate, and the industry has noticed.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, called today’s operationalisation “encouraging,” pointing to publisher-led registration of esports titles and a time-bound determination process as creating “much-needed certainty for all stakeholders.” He added that the “continued emphasis on clearly separating esports from online money gaming is critical in preserving the integrity of competitive gaming as a skill-driven discipline.” He described it as “a proud moment to see official acknowledgement of the broader benefits of responsible esports and gaming, from building confidence, discipline, and teamwork to creating new career pathways for young talent,” and said the framework sets “a strong foundation for the ecosystem to scale in a more structured and globally competitive manner.”
Animesh Agarwal, co-founder and chief executive of S8UL, was equally bullish. “This clarity is critical in unlocking investor confidence and attracting multi-genre brands, while also enabling organisations to take a more long-term view, whether in investing in talent, scaling teams, or building globally competitive formats,” he said, adding that it “strengthens trust among audiences and mainstream stakeholders, positioning esports not just as a sport, but as a fast-growing youth entertainment category in India.”
But Agarwal urged caution on several fronts. There remains limited clarity around financial frameworks, particularly in how esports earnings are treated by banks and financial institutions. A well-defined pathway for the formal recognition or registration of esports teams is still evolving, as are structured player protections. He also called for smoother visa processes for esports athletes competing in international tournaments and for government support in developing infrastructure, including bootcamps, training facilities, and access to high-performance equipment across titles.
Vishal Parekh, chief operating officer of CyberPowerPC India, pointed to downstream effects on education and careers. “With formal recognition and policy backing, colleges and institutions are more likely to take the sector seriously, whether through dedicated esports infrastructure, training programmes, or curriculum integration,” he said, adding that this helps students view gaming as a viable career spanning roles across competitive play, content, game development, and allied industries. He noted that as esports gains prominence in global multi-sport events, the framework strengthens India’s position in international competitive gaming, and called on the ecosystem to provide the right infrastructure and access to high-performance hardware to unlock opportunities in talent development and job creation.
Protecting users, one safeguard at a time
The rules introduce a layered system of user protections calibrated to the risk profile of each game. These include age verification, age gating, time restrictions, parental controls, user reporting tools, counselling support, and fair-play and integrity monitoring. Service providers must disclose their safety features and internal grievance mechanisms when applying for determination or registration.
A two-tier grievance redressal system sits atop these safeguards. Users who are dissatisfied with a platform’s resolution can escalate to the authority within 30 days. The authority aims to dispose of such appeals within a further 30 days. A second appeal lies before the secretary of MeitY, who must also endeavour to resolve matters within 30 days. Enforcement proceedings will be conducted in digital mode wherever possible, with cases targeted for resolution within 90 days from receipt of a complaint.
Penalties under the framework are proportionate, taking into account gain from non-compliance, loss to users, the gravity of the offence, and whether violations are recurring. Mitigation efforts by service providers will also be considered when determining penalties. All penalties imposed under the Act will be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
The money follows the rules
For investors and founders, the implications are immediate and significant. Sagar Nair, head of incubation at LVL Zero Incubator, a 100-day sprint designed to accelerate early-stage gaming startups across India, argues that with real-money gaming now prohibited, capital will shift “away from transaction-driven models toward content-led, IP-driven, and global-first gaming businesses.” He acknowledged trade-offs: for operators with exposure to real-money formats, the market becomes more restrictive in the near term. But he argued that by clearly separating esports and non-money gaming from online money gaming, “India is positioning itself as a hub for responsible, creative, and scalable game development.” The opportunity, he said, is “to view India not just as a monetisation-first market, but as a talent, IP, and scale market,” adding that “for founders and investors willing to adapt, this shift could ultimately strengthen India’s position in the global gaming landscape.”
The government frames the wider impact in equally ambitious terms: a boost to India’s creative economy and digital exports, new career pathways for young people, protection for families from predatory platforms, and a stronger voice in global digital governance. India, it argues, offers a model for other countries grappling with the same tensions between gaming’s economic promise and its social risks, one that shows innovation and strong safeguards need not be mutually exclusive.
Whether the framework delivers on those promises will depend on enforcement, always the hardest part. But from today, the architecture is firmly in place: a regulator with teeth, a classification system with deadlines, penalties designed to deter, and a clear dividing line between games that build careers and games that destroy finances. For a sector that has grown fast and governed itself loosely, May 1st, 2026 is the day the free ride ends.
