Amazon MiniTv IndiaSinghTechCrunch: Launches Free Video Streaming Service in India
Amazon MiniTv IndiaSinghTechCrunch has launched a free video streaming service called miniTV in India. It will be available within its app on Android phones.
In a bid to increase engagement on its shopping app, the company is testing whether ad-supported free video streaming can drive sales.
Production Majors TVF and Pocket Aces
It has partnered with production majors TVF and Pocket Aces, along with comedians Ashish Chanchlani, Amit Bhadana, Round2Hell, Harsh Beniwal, Shruti Arjun Anand, Elvish Yadav, Prajakta Koli, Swagger Sharma and Aakash Gupta. It also features tech content from Trakin Tech, beauty videos from Sejal Kumar and Malvika Sitlani, and food videos from Kabita’s Kitchen and Cook with Nisha.
Launching Ad-Supported
Amazon is launching an ad-supported, free video streaming service in India called MiniTV within its shopping app. It’s a different offering than its separate Prime Video service, and is only available to users in India.
Professionally Created & Curated
MiniTV will feature “professionally created and curated” content, including web series. Comedy sketches and tech news, food, beauty and fashion videos, according to a blog post. It’s partnered with Indian production companies TVF and Pocket Aces. As well as comedians Ashish Chanchlani. Amit Bhadana, Round2Hell, Harsh Beniwal, Shruti Arjun Anand, Elvish Yadav, Prajakta Koli, Swagger Sharma, Aakash Gupta and Nishant Tanwar.
Trakin Tech & Fashion
In addition, miniTV will show tech videos from Trakin Tech and fashion and beauty experts like Sejal Kumar, Malvika Sitlani, Jovita George, Prerna Chhabra and ShivShakti. In the coming months, the company says it will add more new and exclusive videos.
Amazon has launched a free video streaming service called miniTV which is ad-support and built into its Indian shopping app. The service is different from Amazon’s paid Prime Video service and only features content exclusive to India, TechCrunch reports.
Mix of Web Series
The content library is a mix of web series and comedy shows, tech news, beauty and food “to begin with.” It’s currently available in the Android Amazon app but will support iOS and mobile browser-based versions later this year. The catalog includes titles created by Indian production majors TVF and Pocket Aces, as well as a host of comedians.
Popular Beauty Experts
In addition, there’s content from popular beauty experts like Sejal Kumar, Malvika Sitlani, Jovita George, Prerna Chhabra and ShivShakti. Meanwhile, there’s also a lineup of cooking videos from Kabita’s Kitchen and Cook with Nisha. As of now, it’s only available to Indian users but Amazon said it plans to expand the library with “many more new and exclusive videos” in the future.
Video Streaming Service
Amazon minitv is a free, ad-supported video streaming service available in the Amazon app for Android users. It will launch on iOS and mobile web in the coming months.
The new offering is a part of the ecommerce giant’s plan to enter the lucrative Indian AVOD market. Which was valued at between $1-1.2 billion in 2021. The service will offer a library of video content that includes free web series, comedy sketches and tech. Lifestyle and food videos from leading studios like TVF, Pocket Aces, and top comedians.
Two Flat Mates Living in Mumbai
“Adulting,” a web series about two flatmates living in Mumbai, is among the latest titles to launch on the Amazon miniTV platform. The third season of the show has already garnered over a million views on YouTube, with many fans excited to see where it goes next.
‘Recommended for You’, a short film based on the nefarious world of online gaming, also makes its debut on miniTV. It stars actor Ayush Mehra and narrates a tale of a young man (Pranav) who is caught up in a killing spree while watching a video on the recommend video section of his phone.
‘Jahaan’ will premiere on the app in March, a romantic cum thriller drama produced by Unbox Films and directed by Celina John. The short will feature Mrunal Thakur and Avinash Tiwary in pivotal roles. While the story is reminiscent of old love triangles and family conflicts.
Large Library of Comedy Sketches & Satires
In addition to the films, miniTV has a large library of comedy sketches and satires. These include shows from leading comedians such as Ashish Chanchlani. Nishant Tanwar, Arjun Anand, Elvish Yadav, Prajakta Koli, Swagger Sharma, Round2Hell, Harsh Beniwal and Shruti Arjun Anand.
The content library is constantly growing, with a variety of different genres to choose from. Some of the content is exclusive to the service. While others are syndicate from other platforms like Voot, Arre and Viu.
Currently, the library features titles from TVF and Pocket Aces, with other production companies contributing to the selection. Most of the content is either produced in India or sourced from comedians including Ashish Chanchlani, Nishant Tannywar, Arjun Anand. Elvish Tannywar, Prajakta Koli, Swagger Shamir, Round2Hell and Harsh Beniwal.
Final Words:
Amazon MiniTv IndiaSinghTechCrunch has also released a new reality dating show called Datebaazi, starring popular actor Rithvik Dhanjani as the host. The show will see parents pick their children’s dates, with the premise that “parents get expose to today’s dating rules and culture while guiding their kids.”
Other comedy sketch content includes a series of short videos curated by renowned comedy artists like Ashish Chanchlani, Nishant Thakur, Arjun Anand, Amit Bhadana. Prajakta Koli, Swagger Samir, Round2Hell and Harsh Bhatia. The comedy videos are accompanied by music videos, which help keep viewers engaged with the shows.
The ad-supported service is only available on the Amazon app in India for now. But it will expand to iOS and mobile web soon. This is a big move for the ecommerce firm. Which has been aggressively pursuing expansion of its Prime Video offerings in India in recent quarters.
