ITV

Tag: Prime Video

  • UK SVoD growth up; people spending more time on streaming platforms: Omdia’s Research

    UK SVoD growth up; people spending more time on streaming platforms: Omdia’s Research

    Mumbai: According to a research report released recently at Connected TV World Summit, Omdia’s senior director Maria Rua Aguete said, “The number of people paying for video services in the UK has increased 11 per cent over the last year and quarter on quarter since April 2021.”

    According to Aguete, despite the UK cost of living crisis, UK people are tending to spend more and certainly no less in streaming video services. In terms of dealing with rising costs, consumers prefer to cut other expenses than their own home entertainment in order to deal with the rising cost. As the survey reveals, cuts in other spending has allowed them to subscribe to extra services.

    Currently, the average UK household has 2.6 pay subscription services at home, 2 Svod services and 0.6 Pay TV. Although the churn rate has increased significantly in the last 12 months.

    Despite Netflix results showing a decline in global subscriptions (200,000 in Q1 2022), Netflix remains the UK’s favourite video service. It is also still the most popular SVOD service in the domestic market, the USA.

    80 per cent of households in the UK have an online subscription. YouTube and BBC iPlayer tops the chart as most favourite online video services in the UK followed by Netflix. Netflix’s Svod service is still in the race with 15.5 million subscribers.

    Other most popular services in the UK are: Amazon Prime Video with 10 million subscriptions and Disney Plus with 7.5 million subscriptions.

    Churn has increased significantly in the last 12 months:

    45 per cent more subscription video services were cancelled in the last 12 months, while overall there were 20 percent more consumers cancelling their services compared to last year, but counteracting this trend, the number of services cancelled and re-subscribed to in the last 12 months has grown by 84 per cent meaning that although more people are churning, more people are subsequently resubscribing with 50 per cent more re-subscribers in the UK now.

    According to the reports, online video subscriptions will reach 2 billion in 2027. The biggest growth in the last six months comes from: Disney, Now TV, Netflix and Amazon Prime with 21 percent, 18 percent, 8 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

    Those with four streaming video services per home are the ones churning less than those who took more than seven SVOD services are among the highest churners.

    Looking forward, Omdia expects that Netflix, currently in the lead in the streaming video race (Q1 2022), will still lead in five years’ time (2026) Aguete adds: “With the lowest churn rate across all streaming video services and highest lifetime value per customer, Netflix will continue and surpass Disney by 2026.”

  • Amazon Prime Video invests $ 1.2 billion in TV, movies and live sport in UK

    Amazon Prime Video invests $ 1.2 billion in TV, movies and live sport in UK

    MUMBAI: Amazon’s streaming service Prime Video has announced that it invested more than £1 billion ($ 1.2 billion) in TV, movies, and live sport in the UK since 2018. 

    This includes spending on UK Amazon Original series like Clarkson’s Farm; licensed series like Soho Theatre Live and investment in movies like “Paddington 2”; co-productions on flagship British series like A Very English Scandal; as well as investment in live sport.

    “It was important to bring people together at Prime Video Presents to not only showcase our brilliant upcoming shows and movies, but to demonstrate how committed we are to the U.K. in the long term,” explained Chris Bird, managing director Prime Video UK.

    “We’ve spent a long time building a service that offers customers a variety of ways to access the TV shows and movies they love–either included as part of their subscription, as an add-on channel or being able to rent or buy at a low price. We have invested more than £1 billion on TV series, movies, and live sport since 2018. But it’s just as important that we’re investing in the U.K.’s world-leading production and creative industries, with a growing number of U.K. Originals; through a £10 million commitment to training and skills schemes; and by taking a long-term lease at Shepperton Studios,” he said as quoted in an international publication.

    Prime Video also announced the creation of a new fund designed to support British women’s tennis. Prime Video will work with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to help girls and young women overcome barriers to play, with a focus on three key areas: coaching, equipment, and environment. The fund was generated from the broadcast share of last year’s US Open final. Further details will follow later in the year.

    “When we committed to reinvesting the fees generated from the US Open final, it was important for us to take the time to fully understand the existing barriers that girls and young women face when playing tennis. We need to ensure that we are helping to foster the right environment in which girls can feel empowered to play and learn the sport. Our work with the LTA has helped us take huge strides in this area and this fund will directly tackle these barriers later this year” said Prime Video Europe managing director-Live Sport Alex Green.

    Investment in new UK-produced Prime Video series

    Prime Video’s investment in UK content continues with the announcement of new UK Originals, including “Fifteen-Love”, a scripted drama from UK producers World Productions, which is a part of ITV Studios. It explores the dangerous lines where personal and professional relationships collide, set amid the glamorous cut-and-thrust world of elite tennis. The story examines themes of power, sex, and ambition, within an international sporting industry worth over $2 billion.      

    Prime Video unveiled a raft of UK Amazon Original series, including two new true-crime series. The first, The Disappearance of Patricia Hall (working title) from ITN Productions, is the chilling, real-life story of the disappearance of Patricia Hall from a small town in Yorkshire and the subsequent investigation in which her husband, Keith Hall, appeared to admit to her murder before questions were raised about the reliability of his “confession.”

    Three Mothers (working title) is a new three-part series from Scottish independent production company Firecrest Films. Set in the wild west days of the infancy of the internet, it tells the gripping real-life story of three women who all found themselves in the middle of an unbelievable series of events that captured the world’s attention. Director Alice McMahon-Major, producer Zehra Yas, and executive producers Nicole Kleeman and Vari Innes bring this powerful story, told through firsthand testimony, along with a wealth of extraordinary archive material spanning two continents and decades.

    “Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes” sees the new England cricket captain discuss the highs and lows of his record-breaking career with Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes ‘1917’ in a new UK Amazon Original documentary. Produced by Whisper, the film tells the story of Stokes’ phenomenal career, examining his World Cup triumph and heroics at the Headingley crease, as well as the lows which saw him take time away from the game and came at a huge personal cost. The film’s crew captured Ben’s most personal and challenging moments, including the final visit to see his terminally ill father and his struggles with mental health. Ben explores this journey on-screen with cricket fanatic Mendes, who also executive produces the film. “Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes” will launch worldwide exclusively on Prime Video later this year, and the official trailer is also released today.

    “We have supercharged Prime Video’s UK slate with a diverse range of high-quality, distinctive programmes across documentary, drama, comedy, entertainment, and film. It’s such a thrill seeing the slate grow in partnership with some of the UK’s most talented creatives, from first-time creators to legends of British television” said Amazon Studios head UK Originals Dan Grabiner.

  • Amazon Prime Video announces its biggest content slate for India

    Amazon Prime Video announces its biggest content slate for India

    Mumbai: Amazon Prime Video is all set to launch its biggest content slate in India. The streaming major on Thursday announced over 40 new titles in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, across original series, original films and co-productions that it plans for over the next twenty-four months.

    Prime Video also announced its foray into original film production in India with films in Hindi and Telugu, to be released directly on the servics and new multi-year licensing deals and co-productions with some of India’s biggest and most successful studios.

    The service recently completed five years of service in India, and announced that it will more than doubling its investment in Prime Video India over the next five years.

    The upcoming Amazon Originals will enthral customers by offering a wide gamut of genres, ranging from cutting-edge thrillers, high-octane action, engaging dramas to light-hearted comedies and heart-warming romances. The service is augmenting its original programming for young adult audiences, and also exploring genres like supernatural and horror for the first time in its India journey. Furthermore, Prime Video is enhancing the scope of its unscripted series catalogue to explore genres like biographies, true-crime and investigative docu-dramas.

    Prime Video aims to be a home for talent. It is working with a wide set of diverse creators with unique, cinematic voices from across the country. Almost 70 per cent of the new upcoming titles will feature new talent – both in front of and behind the camera.

    After launching Prime Video Channels last year, in another significant step towards creating a video entertainment marketplace, Amazon also launched Prime Video Store, its transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) film rental service in India. Customers can now get early access to the latest Indian and international films, including a rich catalogue of popular films from around the world on a transactional (per-film) basis.

    Prime Video’s customer footprint is set to expand even further as the TVOD rental service will be available to all Prime members, as well as, anyone who isn’t a Prime member. Customers will get early rental access to movies across languages and the rental service can be accessed via the store tab on and the Prime Video app, said the statement.

    Commenting on this, Amazon Prime Video India country head Gaurav Gandhi said, “In the last five years, we have built a strong slate of locally produced content across languages, super-serving the diverse entertainment needs of Indian customers.  With increased access and distribution, we have helped these great stories travel far and wide in India, and around the world. We have played a key role in helping expand the linguistic palette of Indian customers, thereby, increasing the audience base for creators and talent.”

    “Prime Video India today sees viewership from 99 per cent of the country’s pin-codes. India continues to be one of Prime Video’s fastest-growing & most engaged locale globally. We are humbled by the love we have received from our consumers and continue to be deeply committed to delighting our customers with great content, while also fuelling the creative economy,” he added.

    Speaking about the multi-pronged approach on expanding the movies segment in India, Gandhi added, “In tune with our vision to become the most-loved entertainment hub, we have steadily innovated in the way we offer movies to our consumers, from offering films in a post-theatrical early-window to direct-to-service premieres bringing the most anticipated films to consumers’ living rooms and preferred devices. We are deeply committed to grow this segment further and are going bigger on our film licensing partnerships, expanding our co-production initiatives and are now excited to announce our foray into original movies. In addition to our investments in great content, we are super excited about the launch of our TVOD film rental service, that will not just give even more expanded reach to these films but also give customers more choice in how they want to access and watch content.”

    Elaborating on the expansive content slate, Amazon Prime Video head of India originals Aparna Purohit said, “Our mission has been to tell compelling, authentic and rooted stories that not just connect with audiences in India but resonate with audiences across the world. We feel humbled that the characters of our shows and films have inspired new archetypes, blazed a new trail, and in fact, become a part of the cultural zeitgeist. As we move forward, we are excited to partner with some of the most prolific creators to bring forth powerful stories across different formats, genres and languages for our customers. We are confident that our upcoming slate of shows and films will transcend all barriers of language, nationality or formats.”

  • Manish Menghani elevated as director of content licensing at Prime Video & Amazon Studios

    Manish Menghani elevated as director of content licensing at Prime Video & Amazon Studios

    Mumbai: Amazon India has elevated Manish Menghani as director of content licensing for Prime Video and Amazon Studios. 

    Menghani has been associated with the e-commerce giant since it launched Prime Video in India.  

    He previously held the position of head of acquisition – India content at the company.

    Prior to Amazon, Menghani has worked with media organisations such as Reliance Broadcast Network as head of programming and Hungama as AVP and head of content. 

  • Amazon closes acquisition deal with movie studio MGM

    Amazon closes acquisition deal with movie studio MGM

    Mumbai: Amazon has completed its $8.45 billion acquisition of movie studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) recently. MGM is the studio behind franchises such as ‘James Bond’ and ‘Rocky’.

    The decision to close the deal comes after a deadline passed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to challenge the deal. Earlier this week, the European Commission had approved the deal.

    Amazon is set to acquire 4000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmy Awards. It will bolster the content catalogue offered on its video streaming service Amazon Prime Video. The talent at MGM will be merged with Amazon Studios to create diverse entertainment choices for consumers.

    MGM’s catalogue includes TV shows such as “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “Fargo”, “Vikings” and films such as “12 Angry Men’, ‘Basic Instinct’, ‘Creed’, ‘Raging Bull’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Tomb Raider’ as well as this year’s Oscar nominee ‘Licorice Pizza’.

    The MGM staff will join the organisation of Prime Video and Amazon Studios senior vice president Mike Hopkins. Amazon had announced the deal in May 2021.

  • Amazon hikes Prime membership fees in US

    Amazon hikes Prime membership fees in US

    Mumbai: Amazon has hiked the subscription fees for Prime membership in the US. The announcement was made during the fourth quarter financial results for 2021 held on Thursday.  The company has raised annual prices from $119 to $139 and monthly prices from $12.99 to $14.99. 

    This is Amazon’s first price increase in four years and will go into effect on 18 February. However, the hike does not apply to the Amazon standalone Prime Video option that continues to be offered at $8.99 per month. Recently, the company hiked Prime membership fees in India from Rs 999 to Rs 1499.

    When asked whether the company intends to hike prices in other markets, Amazon chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky replied, “We look at the relative price to the customer versus our cost to supply that and the usage and the value that we’re creating for customers. We felt, especially after not raising the price in the United States since 2018 that the time was right to raise it. And we think it’s a much more valuable program today than it was in 2020, let alone 2018. So, other countries, we’ll continue to evaluate every year and nothing else to announce right now.”

    In April 2021, Amazon shared that it had about 200 million Prime members worldwide. While in the fourth quarter, the management team at the company did not share an updated guidance on the number of prime users, Olsavsky said, “On the consumer side, we welcomed millions of new Prime members in both the United States and international during the quarter, while continuing to see consistently high member renewal rates across geographies.”

    Amazon has tripled its original releases since 2018 and will release its anticipated series ‘The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power’ series in September this year. Prime Video debuted 28 local originals internationally including India in the fourth quarter. The OTT platform also saw its strongest viewership for live sports globally during the quarter. Notably, Prime Video made its foray into live sports in India by streaming cricket matches between New Zealand and Bangladesh in the fourth quarter.

  • One in three Fire TV customers said farewell to cable/DTH in 2021: Amazon

    One in three Fire TV customers said farewell to cable/DTH in 2021: Amazon

    Mumbai: One in three Fire TV customers said farewell to a cable or DTH connection in 2021, while one out of every four added or upgraded to a newer, faster version of Fire TV devices to enhance their TV watching experience, according to findings from Amazon’s ‘Fire TV Streaming Trends for 2021’ released on Monday.

    The report, sharing detailed insights on content consumption across its Fire TV devices in India, also revealed that customers spent nearly four hours each day watching content on their Fire TV devices, up from three hours per day in 2021. They interacted with Alexa on an average of once every four seconds on Fire TV devices.

    The devices were purchased in 80 per cent of the pin codes across India, with smaller cities like Hisar, Tiruvallur, Chittoor, Alwar, Imphal, and South Andaman witnessing an increased growth in sales. Fire TV Stick was among the top 10 most popular products on Amazon.in during Prime Day and Amazon Great Indian Festival. 35 per cent of customers gifted or shared Fire TV devices with their friends and families

    Comedy retained its spot as the most preferred TV genre. Fire TV users asked Alexa to play “Tarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah” once every minute, making it the most searched TV show on Fire TV devices. “Peppa Pig,” “Doremon,” and “Cocomelon” were the most popular kids’ shows, with at least one user asking Alexa for these shows every minute.

    On Fire TV devices, consumers enjoyed watching the latest movies across languages, from the safety and comfort of their homes. Some of the most streamed films on Prime Video include Hindi – “Shershaah,” “Sherni,” “Sardar Udham,” Tamil – “Jai Bhim,” “Sarpatta Parambarai,” “Master,” Malayalam – “Drishyam 2,” “Cold Case,” “Malik,” Telegu – “Drushyam 2,” “Tuck Jagadish,” “Narappa,” and Kannada – “Rathnan Prapancha,” “Yuvarathnaa,” “Roberrt.”

    “The Family Man Season 2” was the most-streamed Indian show while “The Wheel of Time” was the most streamed international show on Prime Video on Fire TV devices.

    Further, one in every four users tuned into their Fire TV device to listen to music. Customers increased their streaming hours of Yoga and fitness apps by 15 per cent versus last year. Games on Fire TV devices emerged as another favourite for Indian customers. “Ludo King,” “World Cricket Championship,” and “Little Singham” were the top online games played on Fire TV devices.

    Smart home control requests by customers using Alexa on their Fire TV devices increased by over 150 per cent in 2021 versus last year.

    With the launch of the signature Fire TV Cube as well as Amazon’s first local manufacturing line to produce Fire TV devices, 2021 was a milestone year for Fire TV in the country.

    “With Fire TV, we want to keep the entire family entertained, especially now when people are spending more time at home,” said India head of Amazon Devices Parag Gupta. “There’s something for everyone, be it content for kids, grown-ups, movie buffs, or fitness enthusiasts. Fire TV is a preferred streaming media device for all-things-entertainment across India and globally—over 150 million Fire TV devices have been sold worldwide, with users streaming billions of hours of content every month. We will continue innovating on behalf of our customers to help them seamlessly discover and enjoy new shows, movies, and more.”

    Fire TV has sold more than 150 million devices worldwide and with users streaming billions of hours of content every month, Amazon aims to make it their go-to destination for all things entertainment.

  • So what’s streaming this Christmas

    So what’s streaming this Christmas

    Mumbai: Christmas is here, and so are the streaming platforms with their new content line-ups curated especially for the Xmas season. OTT platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar, and Lionsgate Play have put together a list of handpicked Christmas Classics for their viewers.

    Streaming on Netflix are ‘A Boy called Christmas’, ‘Waffles and Mochi’, ‘The Princess Switch 3’, and ‘Murali’. Amazon Prime Video’s line-up includes ’10 hours for Christmas’, ‘Christmas Break-in’, and ‘The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show’.

    Amazon’s audiobook service Audible joins the party with ‘The Christmas Pig’ (written by J.K. Rowling; narrated by Amaka Okafor, Rocco Padden, Gerran Howell, Tom Alexander, Rachel Atkins, Annette Badland, Karen Bartke, Nicholas Boulton, and more), ‘Home For Christmas’ (written by Jessika Devert, Annika Devert, Anna Gilham; narrated by Natalie Pela), ‘All I Want For Christmas’ (written by Michelle Stimpson; narrated by Eboni Flowers, Reginald James), ‘A Christmas Carol’ unabridged (written by Charles Dickens; narrated by Jon Baum) and ‘The First Christmas’ (written and narrated by Stephen Mitchell).

    Disney+ Hotstar is celebrating the season with ‘Hawkeye’ (2021), ‘Encanto’ (2021), ‘Home Sweet Home Alone’ (2021), ‘Once Upon a Snowman’ (2020), ‘The Disney Holiday Singalong’ (2020), ‘LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special’ (2020), ‘Noelle’ (2019), ‘Toy Story: That Time Forgot’ (2014), ‘Frozen 2’ (2019), and ‘Frozen’ (2013).

    Lionsgate Play’s Christmas playlist includes ‘Sharing Christmas’, ‘Wonder’, ‘All about Christmas Eve’, ‘A Bad Moms Christmas’, and ‘Long Shot’.

  • Indian content producers see uptick in revenues from online video platforms

    Indian content producers see uptick in revenues from online video platforms

    Mumbai: The production of local originals in India is heating up and giving a boost to the creative economy. Online video platforms are expected to invest heavily into local original content to ensure robust paid subscriber growth.

    “The market for digital content has definitely increased,” said Fremantle India managing director Aradhana Bhola. Fremantle India is known for its unscripted TV reality series like “India Idol” and “India’s Got Talent.”

    Fremantle is a global production and distribution company based in the UK that has created hit reality series “Too Hot To Handle” on Netflix and “Hear Me. Love Me.” featuring actor Shilpa Shetty on Prime Video. The Indian arm of the production company has collaborated with YouTube India for two YouTube originals “Hello 2021” followed by “You V YouTube” hosted by actor and cricket presenter Gaurav Kapur.

    “We don’t have a formal partnership in terms of some kind of output deal, however, we are working a lot with them (YouTube),” said Bhola.

    According to Media Partners Asia, investment in online video content reached $1 billion in 2021. Furthermore, the investments in local content increased from 29 per cent in 2020 to 37 per cent in 2021. Licensed/acquired content accounts for 63 per cent share of investments in online video content.

    OTT platform Lionsgate Play, the streaming arm of Lionsgate Entertainment is also launching its first Indian original “Hiccups and Hookups” starring Lara Dutta and Prateik Babbar. Prime Video is releasing the third season of its hit series “Inside Edge.” Disney+ Hotstar is releasing its family drama “Dil Bekaraar.” Netflix is releasing its comedy “Decoupled” that stars R Madhavan and Surveen Chawla. The space for local originals is heating up.

    There is a strong correlation between OTT players who are willing to invest in premium content to service uptake and audience stickiness, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). “In the last two-three years, the Indian OTT industry has come of age. The subscription OTT industry is growing at a much faster pace compared to the rest of the industry. This indicates a maturing of the consumer who is now willing to pay for specific content,” said BCG senior partner and managing director Kanchan Samtani.

    Media Partners Asia vice president and head of India Mihir Shah estimates that if OTT players continue to invest in local content at this rate the subscription video on-demand adoption will grow by four times and reach 224 million subscribers and $ 2.1 billion in revenues by 2026.

    The leading OTT players in terms of subscriber share in the SVOD market are Disney+ Hostar (50 per cent), Prime Video (19 per cent) and Netflix (5 per cent). Revenue share of SVOD subscriptions is at 25 per cent for Disney+ Hotstar, 22 per cent for Prime Video, and 29 per cent for Netflix.

  • In a first, major OTT platforms to participate in IFFI

    In a first, major OTT platforms to participate in IFFI

    Mumbai: The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will see participation from major OTT platforms, for the first time in its history. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, SonyLIV, and Voot will participate at IFFI that is being held in Goa starting 20 November.

    The festival will offer exclusive masterclasses, content launches, previews, and much more. The 52nd edition of IFFI will be held in hybrid format considering the present Covid-19 situation.

    Netflix has organised a three-day virtual masterclass by the Paris-based renowned school of image and arts, Gobelins – School L’image. It facilitated the India premiere of the film “The Power Of The Dog” by Jane Campion, a special screening of the film “Dhamaka” including an introduction of the film by Karthik Aryan and a preview of the first episode of its upcoming crime thriller series “Aranyak” starring Raveena Tandon and Ashutosh Rana. SonyLIV is organising a masterclass by “Scam 1992” screenplay writers Sumit Purohit and Saurav Dey.

    The union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur announced that actor and member of parliament from Mathura Uttar Pradesh Hema Malini and lyricist and chairperson of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Prasoon Joshi will be conferred the Indian film personality of the year award 2021 at the festival.

    IFFI will feature 148 films from about 73 countries in the international section. The festival will have about 12 world premieres, about 7 international premieres, 26 Asia premieres, and about 64 India premieres. IFFI received 624 films from 95 countries this time, up from 69 countries in the previous edition.

    Global cinematic giants Martin Scorsese and Istevan Szabo are being honoured with the first Satyajit Ray lifetime achievement award. They will not be attending the festival physically but their video messages conveying acceptance of the award will be played.

    The opening feature film of Indian Panorama 2021 is the film “Semkhor,” directed by Aimee Baruah. This is the first-ever film made in Dimasa (dialect from Assam) to be featured at IFFI. “The Visionary” (English) directed by Shri Rajiv Parkash is the opening non-feature film in the Indian Panorama section. “The King of all the World” (El Rey de Todo El Mundo) directed by Carlos Saura will be the opening film and this will also be the film’s international premiere. IFFI 52 will come to a close with the screening of Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero,” which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

    There will be about 18 specially curated films presented as part of the ongoing celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The festival director informed that the international jury chaired by the Iranian filmmaker Rakhshān Banietemad is coming to attend the festival. The BRICS Film Festival is being held on the sidelines of IFFI for the first time. There will be a special package presenting films from the five countries.

    The 52nd edition of IFFI is paying homage to the prominent Kannada film actor Puneet Rajkumar and iconic James Bond actor Sir Sean Connery.

    IFFI will open with a star-studded inaugural ceremony, featuring Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh, Shraddha Kapoor, amongst others. Karan Johar and Manish Paul will host the event.