Amazon announces new streaming service after acquiring MX player
Amazon has introduced its latest ad-supported video on demand service called Amazon MX Player. It is the result of the merger of two OTT streaming services: MX Player and Amazon miniTV. Amazon says its new streaming platform will offer content across genres and languages, while continuing to invest in original shows and movies. A library of shows and movies from both platforms will be available to viewers on Amazon’s newest streaming service.
Amazon MX player
In a press release, Amazon said the new video streaming platform will offer hit shows such as Aashram, Dharavi Bank, Campus Diaries, Bhaukaal, Raktanchal, Shiksha Mandal, Roohaniyat and Jamnapaar. It will also feature a collection of Korean, Mandarin and Turkish shows dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and other Indian languages.
Making the announcement, Girish Prabhu, Head of Amazon Advertising India, said: “Today we are bringing together the massive reach of MX Player with the advertising technology that leverages Amazon’s billions of customer signals. What matters is that all brands, not just those selling on Amazon, can reach and deliver relevant advertising to a very large and engaged base across India.”
The first mention of this deal surfaced in 2023 when Amazon was reportedly set to enter into talks with the Tencent-backed company, but these fell through. Talks were said to have resumed again in May 2024 and some time later an agreement was reached for a reported amount of less than $100 million (approximately Rs. 839 crore). Inc42 marked that it was a cash transaction. At the time, it was said that MX Player’s senior management would join Amazon upon the completion of this deal.
Notably, Amazon does not fully own the video streaming platform, but only a portion of its assets. According to a report, Amazon will gain a “distribution and marketing partner” following this deal, which could potentially help the company develop into a “more popular and reliable” option for people in smaller cities.
