Amazon has partnered with Indian telecom network Airtel to launch a version of Prime Video that’s available only on mobile. Prime Video Mobile Edition rolled out in India Wednesday to Airtel pre-paid customers. The service is being introduced with a free 30-day trial followed by an affordable introductory price.
A single viewer, standard definition tier costs Rs 89 ($1.22) for a 28-day subscription after the trial. It even comes bundled with 6GB of mobile data to use for streaming during the subscription period. Higher tiers are also available. For INR299 ($4.09), users can also get unlimited calling and 1.5GB per day, while more tiers offer bundles with full Prime membership benefits including free shipping and ad-free music, bundled with unlimited calling and 2GB of data per day for a prepaid NR349 ($4.77).
“India is one of our fastest growing territories in the world with very high engagement rates,” Jay Marine, Vice President, Amazon Prime Video Worldwide, said in a statement. “Buoyed by this response, we want to double-down by offering our much-loved entertainment content to an even larger base of Indian customers. Given high mobile broadband penetration in the country, the mobile phone has become one of the most widely used streaming devices.”
Having affordable pricing is the key to success in countries like India. This new plan allows people to still access all of Amazon’s benefits, including Prime Video, even if they don’t have a TV or internet connection. It’s common for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, DIsney+, and Prime Video to partner with local telecom operators and satellite TV providers to expand their reach to more consumers throughout countries like India.
Shashwat Sharma, chief marketing officer, Bharti Airtel said: “At Airtel, we are deeply passionate about delivering a differentiated experience to our customers through our Airtel Thanks program. We are happy to partner with Amazon to democratize quality digital entertainment in India by leveraging Airtel’s core strengths of quality customers, deep distribution and best-in-class network for video.”
Airtel currently holds 27% of India’s market share as the country’s second largest mobile telephony provider.