【2017 Archives】

Ahead of the launch of Prime Video in India017 Archives Amazon has inked yet another deal in the country to score a chunk of local content.

The company today announced it has reached an agreement with Green Gold Animation to bring its popular shows for kids to the on-demand streaming service. As part of the partnership, Amazon Prime Video is getting exclusive streaming rights for upcoming TV episodes and movies of 'Super Bheem', 'Chhota Bheem', and 'Mighty Raju.'

The partnership underscores Amazon’s intent to grow its catalog with local content and with people of all age groups in mind. For kids alone, Amazon Prime Video now has shows like 'Krishna Balaram', 'Chorr Police', 'Luv Kush', 'Vikram and Betaal' and 'Krishna' as well as 'Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure' movie.

Amazon brought its Prime service to India in July this year. At the time, it said it will also soon bring Prime Video to the country. The company is reportedly eyeing Diwali for the launch of Prime Video in the country. In the run up to the launch, Amazon has been on a spree of acquiring exclusive streaming and digital rights from major Bollywood studios.

Late last month, it partnered with T-Series, one of India’s largest movie production and distribution studios, to get exclusive streaming rights of future titles from T-Series, ahead of their television premiere. Earlier this month, it partnered with filmmaker SS Rajamouli, Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks to spin off blockbuster Bollywood movie, 'Baahubali',into a new multi-episode animated series called 'Baahubali: The Lost Legends'.

Also last month, Amazon India also partnered with Dharma Productions, one of India’s largest movie studios. As part of the licensing deal, Dharma Productions will provide Amazon with select blockbuster titles including 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', 'Ok Jaanu' and 'Badrinath Ki Dulhania'. Last month, it also partnered with Vishesh Films, another large film production house in India, to get exclusive access to all of its 53 titles. It is reportedly in talks with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's production house Excel Entertainment for its first original show, 'Power Play'.

Amazon’s video service will face off its global rival Netflix in India. Netflix entered the country and over 100 other nations earlier this year. It too has shown interest in grabbing rights for local Indian content, as well as producing some of its own shows in the country. Amazon Prime Video will also compete with local on-demand streaming services such as Hotstar, Voot, and Eros Now. Going by its exclusive deals, Amazon could probably have the best content catalog in India.

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