Watch out Netflix, Hotstar: Amazon Prime partners with Dharma Productions for streaming rights

The market for streaming videos is a burgeoning in India and across the world. Having gauged the opportunity to find a loyal customer base in the country, Amazon Prime is gearing up for its launch in the on-demand video market. And it has already got a one-up on its competitors. Quartz reports that Amazon Prime has inked a deal with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, which makes it “the subscription streaming home for well-known films and upcoming new releases” from the Dharma stable. As part of the deal, Johar’s forthcoming productions like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, OK Jaanu and Badrinath Ki Dulhania will have their digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video. Not just that, members of the digital streaming service will also have access to Dharma’s vast library of films that includes blockbusters like Kapoor & Sons, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Student Of The Year, Agneepath and Kal Ho Naa Ho among others. [caption id=“attachment_2808234” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  You’ll be able to watch Kapoor & Sons on Amazon Prime only.[/caption] Apoorva Mehta (CEO, Dharma Productions) confirmed the development, in a press statement, saying,

“We have kept a close eye on the increased consumption trends of Bollywood content on Video-on-demand and OTT platforms. We are confident that partnering with a credible brand like Amazon will go a long way in ensuring that our content will not only be seamlessly streamed, but will also see a huge demand from users of Prime Video.”

Earlier this month, Amazon Prime Video also bagged the streaming rights of all the movies produced by Vishesh Films. Talking about it to Economic Times, Mukesh Bhatt had said, “We have given the digital rights of our entire library of 53 films to Amazon.” The e-commerce company, which is fast building its database for online video content, is said to be in talks with Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and Yash Raj Films. A step ahead of Netflix and Hotstar? Netflix India made its debut in January this year and after 9 months, it is yet to ape its staggering success in the US. At the moment, it boasts popular titles like Stranger Things, Master of None and Narcos among others while its Bollywood slate is, at best, limited. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Netflix has, so far, only been able to appeal to the English-speaking audience in India. If its future line-up is any indication, the streaming platform is doing little to find mass acceptance. Their next production is the first original series in India based on Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games, which will be produced by Phantom Films. Apart from this, as per a report in Huffington Post, Netflix will be producing a comedy series with Vir Das. Hotstar’s catalog, on the other hand, includes popular shows of Star TV and is heavily focused on sports, especially cricket. Why Amazon Prime seems to have got it right With its strong armory of Amazon Prime Video, Amazon probably will not only be able to tackle Netflix India and Hotstar, but will also be able to keep homegrown retailers like Flipkart and Snapdeal at bay. [caption id=“attachment_3022262” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Images from News 18.[/caption] A large video streaming library will help Amazon increase its Prime membership in the country and as per Fortune magazine, Prime members spend about 2.5 times more than non-members. Neither Flipkart nor Snapdeal has a video streaming service currently.