iWorld
Amazon Prime Video aims to keep evolving with customer taste
MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video is boosting its content play in the market. The OTT platform is all set to stream its fifth Indian original Mirzapur from 16 November. In a media roundtable, Amazon Prime Video India content director and head Vijay Subramaniam also added that it will scale up originals further in 2020. Nine new Hindi originals are planned for 2019.
“I think it’s extremely important to understand that content has scale cinematically and our marketing matches that. It’s important for customers to feel that they are watching premium content and all of that in Rs 129 in a month,” Subramaniam commented.
It has been two years since Amazon Prime Video launched in India in the burgeoning OTT market. Since then, it has been very focused on customer taste and preferences. However, as India is a diverse market, the company wants to ensure that everything it does embraces diversity.
“It is a large market with multiple demographics and multiple segments. So it’s important to understand how we can cater to all of them consistently. Our customers are constantly evolving in their taste and preferences and we need to be updated on the kind of stories they watch and would love to watch. We need to go on that evolution with them," Subramaniam added.
The company, unlike its rival Netflix, has prioritised localisation since beginning. While the service already has content in six regional languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali and Kannada, it is also looking at adding more regional languages in next 12-18 months.
Interestingly, Subramaniam said that when new a language offering is launched, customers first seek movies. Hence, it tries to ensure adding the best and latest movies in the language to the library. After understanding their taste and preference, it adds content in other forms including originals. Right now the regional languages under evaluation for series-based content are Tamil and Telugu.
“In Tamil and Telugu, after having operated for a year, we looked at the opportunity to produce some series. Gangster was our first, another one in Tamil is coming out at the end of this month. These are both pilots in that sense. By putting these out we are trying to learn and understand our customers and get their feedback on what they like to watch. And once we have that we will definitely double down and scale up our originals in regional languages,” he added.
For the new nine-episode web series Mirzapur, Amazon Prime Video India has again collaborated with Excel Media & Entertainment after the Emmy winning Inside Edge. Set in the heartland of India, the show revolves around drugs, guns and the politics of power in a land where might is right. For the new show, while there have been enough large-scale outdoor marketing, there will be a lot of initiatives on the digital front too.
Amazon is confident that Mirzapur will make a mark not only in India but also globally. Breathe also did exceptionally well with 40 per cent viewers from outside India.
iWorld
MS Dhoni invests in Kuku, joins Kuku TV as brand ambassador
Cricket icon backs AI storytelling platform, fronts Kuku TV campaign
MUMBAI: MS Dhoni has invested in Kuku and joined its short-form drama app Kuku TV as brand ambassador, signalling a high-profile bet on India’s fast-growing AI-led content space.
Kuku, a mobile-first storytelling platform, operates across formats with apps such as Kuku TV for micro-dramas, Kuku FM for audio content and Guru for learning-led entertainment. Founded in 2018, the company has scaled rapidly, crossing 350 million installs and building a catalogue of over 20,000 titles across multiple Indian languages.
Dhoni said his decision to invest and partner with the platform was driven by its distinct approach to storytelling and its strong growth trajectory. MS Dhoni said, “I chose to invest in Kuku, and also come on board as the ambassador for Kuku TV, because the platform really stood out to me. It has built a differentiated entertainment experience for audiences across India, spanning multiple languages and formats. The growth has been impressive, and I connect strongly with the founders, who come from small towns like mine and have built something of this scale. I believe in their vision of building an AI-driven storytelling platform from Bharat, for Bharat, and for the world.”
Founded by Lal Chand Bisu, Vinod Kumar Meena and Vikas Goyal, the platform positions itself at the intersection of technology and storytelling, using AI to create and distribute bite-sized content tailored to mobile audiences.
Sharing his perspective, Kuku co-founder and CEO Lal Chand Bisu said, “MS Dhoni is known for backing bold decisions that others might hesitate to take. At Kuku, we are also taking bold bets. That spirit of unconventional thinking resonates deeply with us.”
Adding to this, Kuku co-founder and COO Vinod Kumar Meena said, “Our beloved Thala is one of the rare personalities with truly nationwide appeal. As we build Kuku for all of India, that connection makes him a natural fit for us.”
Further, Kuku co-founder and CTO Vikas Goyal said, “MSD has a unique understanding of people. As we build for both creators and consumers, that perspective will be incredibly valuable, especially as we continue strengthening our AI-driven storytelling stack.”
Backing the momentum, Panthera Peak Capital managing director Nikhil Bhandarkar said, “Kuku’s vision, execution, and clarity of thought are exceptional, qualities that closely mirror MS Dhoni’s approach. We are excited to partner with the team as they build Kuku into a global entertainment platform.”
To mark the association, Kuku TV has rolled out the campaign Dhoni Watches Kuku TV, anchored by a brand film that plays on Dhoni’s instinctive decision-making. Built around short, engaging stories delivered in minutes, the campaign highlights the platform’s promise of quick, compelling entertainment.
With Dhoni stepping in as both investor and face of the brand, Kuku appears to be doubling down on its ambition to take AI-driven storytelling from India to a global audience, one short story at a time.
