Shubham Sawarkar
Amazon, the e-commerce and cloud giant, is reportedly in talks to acquire the Indian streaming service, MX Player. This move marks a significant milestone in Amazon’s pursuit of an expensive international media expansion, as the company continues to look for ways to cut costs. The news comes as a result of a report by TechCrunch, which cites sources familiar with the matter.
MX Player, majority owned by Indian media conglomerate The Times Group, is one of India’s largest internet video sites and is considered a formidable competitor to Amazon Prime Video. With its offerings of both on-demand video and ad-supported streaming channels, MX Player has quickly established itself as a major player in the Indian streaming market.
The terms of the deal have not yet been finalized and there are reportedly at least two other potential bidders including Zee-Sony, who are also interested in acquiring MX Player. The streaming service has a post-money valuation of $500 million, following a successful fundraising round in 2019, which was participated by Tencent, according to TechCrunch.
Over the past decade, Amazon has invested billions of dollars into India, including the development of logistics infrastructure for e-commerce and a significant amount of spending on local language content for Prime Video. However, the company has faced challenges in turning a profit in India and faces intense competition in the streaming market from the likes of MX Player, Disney + Hotstar, and Google‘s YouTube, among others.
The acquisition of MX Player by Amazon, if it comes to fruition, could potentially mark a turning point for Amazon’s international media expansion strategy. The move would give the company a significant foothold in the highly competitive Indian streaming market, and the chance to leverage MX Player’s existing user base to further expand its reach in the region. As the streaming market continues to grow and evolve, it will be interesting to see how this acquisition impacts the competitive landscape in India.
