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Tag: Amazon

  • MX Player launches interactive film ‘Balcony Buddies’

    MX Player launches interactive film ‘Balcony Buddies’

    Mumbai: Entertainment app MX Player in association with Amazon, exclusively premiered its second interactive film ‘Balcony Buddies’ to celebrate Friendship Day on 1 August. The film is an extension of e-tailing giant’s ‘Har Pal Fashionable’ campaign. 

    The film starring Aisha Ahmed and Amol Parashar is about an accidental friendship between two strangers in lockdown who have only one thing in common – a balcony facing each other, and it celebrates their lockdown friendship like never before. It allows viewers to make fashion choices for the characters and even decide the course of the story. The merchandise can simultaneously be purchased on Amazon.

    “With interactive video, MX has enabled personalising the story to each individual user’s preferences. We are putting the user in control of exploring multiple forks in the story – by generating user curiosity with multiple ‘what-if’ moments that deliver non-linear storylines,” said MX Player, SVP-product, Sidd Mantri elaborating on the product innovation. “We’ve fundamentally disrupted video as a story-telling format that’s remained linear for 100+ years since its invention in the late 19th century.”

    Speaking about the association with Amazon, MX Player’s head of brand partnerships, Pankaj Malani added, “There is an appreciation for brands that invest in content and innovate with their storytelling in order to break through the clutter. We’re delighted to have had this opportunity to collaborate with Amazon to bring alive their ‘Har Pal Fashionable’ campaign in this MX special interactive film. Content today needs to add value and entertain the viewers, and with initiatives like these, we aim to seamlessly integrate the brand voice with content making it a wholesome experience for our large audiences. ”

    https://bit.ly/BalconyBuddies

  • Amazon miniTV service announces exclusive content for customers

    Amazon miniTV service announces exclusive content for customers

    Mumbai: Amazon’s free video entertainment service, miniTV, has announced its exclusive line-up for comic content on the service. With sketches specially curated for miniTV customers, India’s popular YouTube-based content creators – Ashish Chanchlani, Prajakta Koli, Amit Bhadana, Dolly Singh, Saloni Gaur, and Be YouNick will entertain all Amazon customers.

    Aimed at catering to the varying entertainment taste and preferences of today’s internet savvy consumers, the content categories on miniTV are carefully curated for wider appeal that cuts across gender and language barriers, the platform said in a statement on Wednesday.

    As part of this association, the creators will make sketches out of highly relatable daily life situations which will first be exclusively released on miniTV. While Dolly Singh’s humorous sketch will tell you about the 7 stages of getting over a break-up, Prajakta Koli will guide you on how to perfect the art of ‘middle-class hacks’. In his inimitable style, Ashish Chanchlani will take you to the extraordinary world of ‘Beauty & Fashion influencers’, whereas Amit Bhadana will don the role of a ‘Salesman’ stuck between an overzealous boss and an ex-lover. Be YouNick will share a hilarious yet relatable tale of getting over a breakup while touching base with friends. From spoofs on relationships to an app that helps you rob better, this repertoire is sure to tickle all the funny bones while delivering a hearty laugh to the audience.

    “At Amazon, our viewers are at the heart of our business and we’re always looking at bringing the best bouquet of content for their delight,” said Amazon Prime Video and miniTV’s director and head of content, Vijay Subramaniam. “With miniTV, the idea is to deliver top-notch content to Amazon customers, while elevating their overall shopping experience. We are thrilled to have these brilliant comedic minds on board and are certain that our customers will enjoy the exclusive content on miniTV”  

    “Our collaboration with India’s digital-first content creators is yet another step in delivering seamless and engaging entertainment through Amazon.in,” said director and head of Amazon Advertising Harsh Goyal. “This July, India’s most loved comedians come together to entertain Amazon shoppers with a medley of sketches on some of the most relatable topics.  A hearty laugh is promised!”

    miniTV can be watched within the Amazon mobile shopping app for free on Android phones. Amazon customers can enjoy thousands of fun and engaging titles across web series, comedy, tech, beauty, fashion & food on the newly-launched service.

  • Content spending to top $250 billion by year-end, amid soaring demand

    New Delhi: Despite a year of uncertainty and production hiatuses due to the global pandemic, streaming platforms have set the global film and TV industry on a trajectory of accelerated growth with no imminent ceiling in sight. According to a latest assessment by London-based fin-tech platform, Purely Streamonomics, audience demand, production spending, and TV budgets reached all-time highs during the pandemic.

    While the actual number of films that went into production dropped last year, and TV series experienced shooting delays, more cash than ever was committed to content, reflecting continually rising production budgets and greater rights-buying activity.

    Production spending to top $250 billion by year-end

    Based on current trend lines, Purely expects production spending to top $250 billion by year-end, and then keep rising beyond that, especially as media mergers: Warner Bros Discovery, Amazon-MGM and Televisa-Univision start to flex their combined muscles around the planet.

    “What is remarkable about these record numbers is that the industry’s spending has yet to bump up against any natural ceiling. Every year there is talk of the industry being on the cusp of ‘peak television’ and yet it is clear from our own business dealings that the streaming of films and TV shows is only now starting to reach escape velocity,” said Purely, founder and CEO, Wayne Marc Godfrey, “Streaming is not just displacing traditional sources of entertainment revenue such as pay-TV and linear broadcasting, it is actually expanding the global marketplace for video.”

    The research shows that gross cash amount spent producing and licensing new entertainment content (excluding sports) soared by 16.4 per cent in 2020 to reach $220.2 billion, setting yet another milestone that is on track to be surpassed again this year. “But this is only the start of what’s to come. Even more spending growth is on the short-term horizon as a new wave of ad-supported platforms start gaining a stronger foothold around the world, alongside the subscription-funded services that have been driving the streaming marketplace until now,” says the report by the London-based fin-tech platform.

    Four emerging trends:

    Deluge of new streaming platforms:

    Since 2019, the number of global customers subscribing to streaming video platforms (has grown from 642 million to more than 1.1 billion, a 71 per cent leap that has been turbo-charged by months of enforced lockdowns at home. The pandemic not only drove rampant growth on existing platforms, it also accelerated the acceptance of powerful new global competitors including Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, HBO Max, Peacock, Discovery Plus, Paramount Plus and Star. Joining these global platforms in the hunt for monthly customers are several regional Champions. Total number of subscribers is expected to reach at least 1.6 billion by 2025—representing about a fifth of the planet’s total projected population by then.

    Content Spending Reaches a New High

    As more platforms entered the streaming market and audience demand reached all-time highs in 2020, overall Film & TV production spending increased worldwide.

    According to the research, The Walt Disney Co remains the biggest single spender on content, with a grossed-up total of $28.6 billion for 2020 – which is more than spend across the whole of Asia ($27.7 billion) last year, followed by recently formed Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix. Once Amazon completes its own acquisition of MGM, that combined entity would rank as the fourth largest North American production. On that basis these top four companies alone, with combined spending of $75.3 billion, almost equates to the entire worldwide spending outside of North America ($77.3)

    Spending On Indie Content Surges

    As much as Netflix and the five major Hollywood studios spend producing their own content, independently made and acquired content accounts for twice as much money globally. According to Purely Streamonomics’ global research, indie content spending jumped by 25.3 per cent year-on-year in 2020 and now accounts for 65.5 per cent of the world’s film and TV production activity.

    Budgets Are Soaring for TV shows

    As audiences continue to grow, and more competition enters the market, the stakes keep getting higher. In order to stay competitive, producers face pressure to up their production spending. As a result, budgets have risen in recent years, especially for TV shows. According to the research, average budgets across all new series in the US– scripted, unscripted, daytime and kids – was on the rise, up 16.5 per cent in 2020. The cost of introducing and monitoring COVID protocols in 2020 also added 20-30 per cent to production budgets.

    The findings of the research were presented in the form of infographics by Purely Streamonomics and created by digital publisher Visual Capitalist. The data is based on SEC filings by U.S. media conglomerates and tech giants, as well as reports published by national film and TV data-gathering organisations around the world.

  • Google India MD Sanjay Gupta elected as IAMAI’s new chairman

    New Delhi: Industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Friday announced that Google India vice president and managing director Sanjay Gupta has been elected as its chairman for 2021-23.

    He succeeds Amazon senior vice president and India country manager Amit Agarwal.

    IAMAI has also named Facebook India vice president and managing director Ajit Mohan as vice chairman of the association, succeeding Yatra.com co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Dhruv Shringi.

    Razorpay CEO and co-founder Harshil Mathur has been elected as the treasurer. He succeeds Times Internet Ltd, vice chairman, Satyan Gajwani.

    Talking about his appointment, Gupta said connecting over a billion Indians to the opportunities, the Internet can empower businesses, scale access to education, healthcare and drive financial inclusions in the country. “As a country, India has made tremendous progress and has proven the ability to deliver towards this vision. At this critical moment, the onus is on all of us to ensure that we make responsible progress towards delivering this vision, respecting everyone’s right to privacy, ensuring their safety, and making the Internet a powerful engine for India’s economic growth,” he added.

    Facebook’s Ajit Mohan said IAMAI has long played a positive role in ensuring that India’s exciting digital transformation delivers for everyone in the country. “At a time when digital is playing an increasingly important role in peoples’ lives, we are committed to bringing the best of this industry to be an enabling force for good for India,” he said. 

  • Amazon, Apple emerge as most valuable global brands 2021: Kantar

    New Delhi: Multinational giant Amazon consolidated its position as the world’s most valuable brand, growing 64 per cent to $ 684 billion, Kantar said in its latest BrandZTM Most Valuable Global Brands 2021 ranking released on Monday.

    Amazon’s brand value grew by almost $268 billion this year and it became the first half-a-trillion-dollar brand, alongside Apple, at number two, valued at $612bn. The other brands that figured in the top ten most valuable global brands in 2021 were: Google, Microsoft, Tencent, Facebook, Alibaba, Visa, McDonald’s, and MasterCard.

    China’s TikTok and USA’s Tesla are among the brands that doubled their brand values during the pandemic. Tesla even emerged as the fastest growing brand and became the most valuable car brand, growing its value by 275 per cent year-on-year to $ 42.6 billion, said the report.

    Tech brands dominate global rankings

    Seven of the top ten brands are from the tech sector. Tech has also enabled non-tech brands to achieve significant growth, for example Gucci – harnessing the power of TikTok during the pandemic, and Domino’s – leveraging online and delivery services. New entrant Zoom was one of the big tech stories of 2021, with its ease of use and reliability driving momentum with business and personal users. It entered the ranking at 52 with a valuation of $36.9bn.

    World’s most valuable brands show record growth

    Despite the economic downturn brought by the devastating wave of Covid-19, the report found that the world’s most valuable brands experienced record growth. Their total worth reached $7.1 trillion – equivalent to the combined GDP of France and Germany. This was largely driven by confidence derived from vaccine availability, economic stimulus packages, and improving GDP outlooks, said Kantar Group.

    “Despite many facing a difficult year, our research has again proven that strong brands deliver superior shareholder returns, are more resilient, and recover more quickly,” said Kantar CMO, Nathalie Burdet. “With global e-commerce growing from 12 per cent to 15 per cent of all sales in 2020, it has been a positive year for brands involved in that value chain.”

    Apparel brands overtake M&E brands

    Despite reduced travel and lockdowns globally, apparel brands have collectively grown even more than media and entertainment brands in the ranking, as people redefined the boundaries between work and leisurewear. Adidas, Nike, and Puma all secured over 50 per cent value growth. Whilst, collectively, fast fashion did not grow as fast, notably, Uniqlo (+88 per cent) and H&M (+47 per cent) grew valuations significantly. The Top 20 retailers grew their brand value by a combined 48 per cent.

    Success of subscription-based models

    Microsoft innovated offers to adapt to new working environments and transitioned to subscription models to improve convenience and scalability, recording a growth of 26 per cent. Xbox (+55 per cent), Disney (+13 per cent), and Netflix (+55 per cent) all saw growth, while Spotify entered the ranking following a 454 per cent growth in subscribers from 2015-20 and a significant improvement in consumer brand equity.

    Reputation: A Key factor

    According to the report, reputation, especially for sustainable and ethical purposes, is increasingly a driver for brand growth. The luxury category saw 34 per cent brand growth with, predominantly, French and Italian luxury companies such as LVMH investing in their corporate reputation through pandemic-related initiatives, sustainable transformation, and support for social movements such as BLM. Similarly, L’Oréal Paris successfully bucked the trend across beauty brands in the pandemic, securing brand growth by flexing its assets and driving female empowerment.

    Emphasis on Trust and Reliability

    “Our analytics have uncovered that 70 per cent of what makes a brand successful is executing four fundamentals well: providing superior experience across consistently branded touchpoints, a range of well-designed and functional products and services, convenience, and exposure through great advertising. However, COVID-19 has emphasised consumer values such as trust and reliability. Those brands that are evolving their values, projecting leadership on these issues are demonstrating differentiation and standing out,” said Burdet.

  • Amazon Prime Video launches #TheFamilyManJobHunt

    Amazon Prime Video launches #TheFamilyManJobHunt

    KOLKATA: As we inch closer to the release of the new season of the eagerly awaited Amazon original series – The Family Man, Amazon Prime Video has launched an innovative engagement initiative with India Inc. and startups to stir-up the excitement quotient for the series.

    Titled #TheFamilyManJobHunt, this unique influencer campaign follows Srikant Tiwari’s (Manoj Bajpayee’s character in the series) quest for a new job, with him being interviewed by business stalwarts like Ritesh Agarwal, founder & chief executive officer of OYO Hotels & Homes, Manu Kumar Jain, vice president of Xiaomi, Kabeer Biswas, chief executive officer & co-founder of Dunzo and Ankur Warikoo, co-founder of Nearbuy. The engagement initiative picks up from last season’s story-arc where Srikant faces an uphill task of finding a decent desk job for himself, having just quit TASC (a fictitious arm of the Indian intelligence agency) to spend time with his family.

    Kick-starting the digital campaign, lead actor Manoj Bajpayee took to his social media to share that Srikant Tiwari has finally chosen to be an ideal Family Man and is on the lookout for a corporate job. His post triggered a round of fun and quirky conversations among fans, celebrities and social media influencers who replied to his tweets with bizarre job recommendations. Industry leaders like Ankur Warikoo (Nearbuy), Kabeer Biswas (Dunzo), Ritesh Agarwal (OYO) and Manu Kumar Jain (Xiaomi) are seen joining in the fun banter as well, proposing to interview Srikant. What follows are a series of interesting virtual interviews with these renowned business leaders that has created quite the stir in the corporate world and even amongst internet users.

    Nearbuy co-founder Ankur Warikoo said, “Srikant (Manoj Bajpayee’s character in the show) is a super talented guy. (I) would have loved for him to be part of Nearbuy. Not sure why the reference checks aspect of his interview made him get all weird. Love such talent, sad he could not join us!”

    Dunzo CEO & co-founder Kabeer Biswas said, “Working with The Family Man team has been a thrilling experience much like the show itself.  It was a natural extension for Dunzo – through the pandemic, our team has worked to keep Indian citizens safe. No mean-feat, if you think about it! Just like Srikant, we have had to balance multiple priorities. As we continue to deliver essentials across the country, we’re sure that the series will deliver on the intrigue and entertainment it did with the first season. And Srikant, the job offer is always open!” 

    Xiaomi vice president Manu Kumar Jain added, “It was an absolute delight to collaborate with the team of Amazon Prime Video for the upcoming season of The Family Man. It was great to have Srikant interview with us. He promises to be a high performing individual both on reel and in real life much like Mi TV, India’s no. 1 smart TV brand. We are confident that with the passion he has, the new season of The Family Man will continue to be one of the most popular shows amongst the audiences.”

    Amazon Prime Video India, marketing director Sushant Sreeram said, “As India’s much loved video streaming service, we have had the opportunity to build immersive worlds for our viewers with blockbuster series like The Family Man. A big part of building that on-going relationship with our viewers is to bring elements from reel life to real life and vice-versa. Srikant Tiwari (being) on a job-hunt is just that – a much loved character doing something many of us have experienced in real life. We had a ball working with leaders of some of the most exciting startups in the country right now, putting together this fun job-hunt campaign for our customers. Who is going to hire the not-so-minimum guy? Tune in to Amazon Prime Video on the 4th of June to find out!”

  • Tata Digital acquires majority stake in Bigbasket

    Tata Digital acquires majority stake in Bigbasket

    New Delhi: Tata Digital Ltd announced on Friday that it has acquired a majority stake in the online grocery platform Bigbasket.

    Tata Digital is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Sons. With this deal, one of India’s largest conglomerates has entered into direct competition with Flipkart, Amazon, and Reliance Industries which have continued to bolster their presence in the country’s fast-growing e-commerce space.

    “Grocery is one of the largest components of an individual’s consumption basket in India, and Bigbasket as India’s largest e-grocery player fits in perfectly with our vision of creating a large consumer digital ecosystem. We are delighted to welcome Bigbasket as a part of Tata Digital,” said Tata Digital CEO Pratik Pal in a statement on Friday.

    Exact details about the deal were not disclosed. But according to some media reports, the deal is worth about Rs 9,500 crore.

    E-grocery has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in the consumer e-commerce space. Its growth has been further propelled by the country’s rising consumption and digital penetration, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which led consumers to increasingly opt for safer deliveries of groceries at home.

    “We are extremely excited about our future as a part of Tata Group. As a part of the Tata ecosystem we would be able to build stronger consumer connect and accelerate our journey,” said Bigbasket CEO Hari Menon. Founded in 2011, the Bangalore-based company has now expanded its presence to over 25 cities.

    Meanwhile, the Tata Group is now building a digital consumer ecosystem addressing consumer needs across categories in a unified manner. Online food and grocery is an important part of this ecosystem. The acquisition presents an attractive opportunity for the group in its overall vision of creating a digital ecosystem, it said in a statement on Friday.

  • Amazon to reimagine, develop MGM titles: Jeff Bezos

    Amazon to reimagine, develop MGM titles: Jeff Bezos

    KOLKATA: It is a mega $8.45 billion deal that has helped Amazon build a bond with that awesome fictional British secret service agent James Bond. Eyebrows were raised, questioning the size of the amount that is being coughed up to acquire the famed Hollywood studio MGM. Outgoing CEO Jeff Bezos is, however, not letting these doubters perturb him; he is excited by the prospects of the deal.

    While speaking at the company’s annual general meeting Bezos once again explained that the decision was driven by MGM’s rich and deep catalogue, but even more exciting is the manner in which Amazon is looking at reimagining and developing the  IPs the studio has under its fold.

    Bezos pointed out that the acquisition theory is “very simple.” The studio has a vast, deep catalogue of much-loved intellectual property, he reminded. It’s also a win for people who love stories, he added.

    He highlighted that MGM’s library of more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows, including iconic titles like James Bond, Thelma and Louise, Raging Bull, Robocop and Tomb Raider, The Handmaid’s Tale and Vikings, is very much coveted and valuable.

    “The only way to get above-average returns is to take risks and many won’t pay off. Our whole history as a company is about taking risks, many of which have failed and many of which will fail,” he elaborated.

    On Wednesday evening, the announcement finally came in that the e-commerce giant had decided to acquire the studio. “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IPs in the deep catalogue that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team,” Amazon Studios & Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins said at the time of the announcement.

    Amazon has 200 million Prime members worldwide with access to its video service. Prime members who watch video have higher free trial conversion rates, higher renewal rates, and higher overall engagement.

     The company has been ramping up its spend on content, even on live sports, to stay competitive with the fare being churned out by  Netflix and  Disney and now with the merged Discovery+Warner Media juggernaut.

  • Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to step down on 5 July

    Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to step down on 5 July

    KOLKATA: The announcement had been made in February this year: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would vacate his post, handing over the reins to the company’s top cloud executive Andy Jassy. Bezos would transition to chairman of Amazon’s executive board. No date was revealed at that time. Now we know when he will follow through on that announcement. Speaking at the company shareholders’ annual general  meeting (AGM),  Bezos revealed that 5 July will be his last official working day as CEO, and Bassy’s first day as head honcho of Amazon.  

    Under Bezos leadership has transformed from being a bookseller to ecommerce pioneer to cloud computing pioneer to entertainment trail blazer.

    “I’m very excited to move into the [executive] chair role, where I’ll focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives,” Bezos stated at the AGM. “We chose that date because it’s sentimental for me, the day Amazon was incorporated in 1994, exactly 27 years ago,” he added further.

    Jassy is currently heading Amazon Web Services, who will be replaced by Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky after he takes over his new position. Considerably, the cloud segment is now the company’s most profitable segment.

    Bezos shared his confidence in Jassy saying: “He has the highest of high standards and I guarantee that Andy will never let the universe make us typical. He has the energy needed to keep alive in us what has made us special.”

    While Bezos will still be involved in major corporate decisions, he will focus more on other ventures like Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin and The Washington Post.

  • Amazon buys Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45 billion

    Amazon buys Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45 billion

    KOLKATA: Content is the engine of the streaming economy. Recognising this, the streamers have been going through a dizzying series  of acquisitions and mergers. The latest to do so is tech giant Amazon which has finally signed on the dotted line to buy up Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45 billion. This is its  second largest acquisition after it bought Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017. For the last week or so, speculation was running rife that a deal between the two was on the cards.

    MGM has real gems under its brand that movie lovers have voraciously consumed across the world. The studio is behind classics such as Gone with the Wind and Rocky, the famous Bond franchise, Singin’ in the Rain, 12 Angry Men. Its library also includes popular reality TV shows like The Voice and Shark Tank.

    “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team,” Amazon Studios and Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins has been quoted as saying in media reports internationally.

    Amazon has 200 million prime members worldwide with access to its video service, chief executive jeff Bezos revealed recently. “As Prime Video turns 10, over 175 million Prime members have streamed shows and movies in the past year, and streaming hours are up more than 70 per cent year over year,” he later said in April.

    Prime members who watch video have higher free trial conversion rates, higher renewal rates, and  higher overall engagement. The company has been ramping up  its spend on content , to stay  competitive with the fare being churned out by  Netflix and  Disney and now with the merged Discovery+Warner Media juggernaut.

     “I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the golden age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination,” MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich said in a statement.