Netflix gears up to take on Amazon Prime Video in India in 2017

If 2016 was the year when Indians had their first brush with the Big Daddies of online video streaming, 2017 could well be the year when they get to choose a clear winner.

Especially, when the world's second-largest internet user base is the stage and a compelling match is being played between two heavyweights — Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Netflix's latest additions to its content portfolio points towards only one thing: That Amazon is making it think. And act.

Netflix entered the competitive Indian market almost a year before Amazon Prime did, but only now has it stepped on the accelerator. It has announced the addition of last year's big-ticket Bollywood film, Udta Punjab, and a slew of Indian regional language titles to its worldwide content library.

This is interesting primarily because Netflix has always stuck to its universally relevant library and hasn't much altered its content mix to suit micro market needs. But India is clearly a different ballgame, especially when old rival Amazon Prime has to be contained.

When Amazon's Prime Video rolled out in India in December, Netflix neither had any spectacular vernacular titles to boot for nor did it have the exclusive content deal with megastar Shah Rukh Khan.

Sure, it had announced an original web series in the country, but its overall India-specific offerings seemed to pale in comparison with Amazon that released a rich line-up of local movies, television shows and original productions.

Just a month down the line, Netflix has picked up movies that may or may not appeal to its global audiences. But to its Indian user base, it should matter. And to its own fortunes in India, it surely will.

Other than content, Netflix is also facing the heat from Prime Video in terms of pricing.

Amazon's introductory offer makes a Prime subscription available at Rs 499 ($7.5) — nearly the same price at which a Netflix monthly plan can be bought.

This disparity might give Prime Video, the later entrant in the price-conscious Indian market, a competitive edge over Netflix. And it is left to be seen what the California-based network does on that count.

Until then, there's Udta Punjab.

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And some other Indian movies too.

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