Amazon pushes Prime Video in its fastest growing market with new partnerships

Amazon is leaving no stone unturned in its push for Prime Video in India, its fastest growing market.

The ecommerce giant announced two new partnerships in India this week to expand its catalog for the local audience.

The company today bagged a deal with Kabir Khan, the Indian director and producer of Ek Tha Tiger. As part of the deal, Amazon secured exclusive online rights for his upcoming title The Forgotten Army. Amazon says it will be marketing the movie as an original.

The upcoming title will be directed by Khan, and is based on Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army, an armed force formed by nationalists to fight for India's independence from British rule.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"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," said Roy Price, Vice President and Head of Amazon Studios in a press statement.

The announcement comes a day after Amazon said it has inked a deal with Paramount for streaming rights of recently released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Star Trek Beyond, and 10 Cloverfield Lane.

As part of the deal, Amazon Prime Video in India will also offer titles from Paramount-owned Transformers, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, Madagascar, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda franchises.

In a press statement, Nitesh Kripalani, the director and country head for Prime Video said the company is working on providing Indian customers with "best movies – be it local or international."

Content, alongside Prime Video’s incredibly affordable price point, remains the key for how Amazon is trying to "grab land" in India’s entertainment streaming market, analysts say.

Amazon began inking deals with local giant production houses and distributors in India long before it launched Prime Video in the country to gain access to their entire catalogs. Some of these partners include giants such as Vishesh Films, T-Series, and Dharma Productions.

Amazon has also secured rights for comedy content from over a dozen of standup comedians in the country. In the recent weeks, the company has also signed deals with Lionsgate and BBC to acquire international titles for the Indian audience.

In comparison, Netflix is still trailing in broadening its local content catalog for the Indian market. The company has been modestly picking handful of titles. Late last year, it partnered with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan for exclusive access to all of his Red Chillies Entertainment's titles.

Mashable exclusively reported last month that the company is in final stages of talks with Aamir Khan for rights of all of Aamir Khan Productions' titles. Sources say the talks are chugging along smoothly and the announcement could happen in "weeks."

But Amazon Prime Video has another weapon that Netflix lacks: a giant ecommerce platform. Earlier this month, the company said it will be bundling several Amazon apps including Prime Video on all the smartphones that are exclusively sold through its platform.