American Over-the-top (OTT) streaming and production companies Amazon Prime Video is betting big on India and are riding on the huge growth potential offered by a whopping 1.3 billion population.

While Netflix slashed its subscription prices by up to 60% last December to expand its base in India, Amazon Prime Video (APV) on Thursday doubled its investment in content in the country, mostly through original movies and web series in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. 

Amazon's held it's first Prime Video gala event at JW Marriott hotel in Mumbai on Thursday, 'Amazon Prime Video Presents India'. Over 40 original films and series, in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil, were lined up at the gala event. 

India’s top movie stars including Madhuri Dixit Nene, Kangana Ranaut, Shahid Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Siddharth Malhotra will feature in original movies. While Kangana will debut her film production house, Manikarnika Films, with “Tikku weds Sheru”, Madhuri Dixit Nene signed with “Maja Maa” for her first web-film, Shahid Kapoor joined Vijay Sethupathi and Kay Kay Menon for web-series "Farzi", Vidya Balan comes back to the platform with 'Neeyat', Sonakshi Sinha with Dahaad, and Siddharth Malhotra teams up with Rohit Shetty for 'Indian Police Force. 

Netflix, earlier reported a overall subscriber loss, for the first time in over a decade. Experts from the industry suggest that AVP have the edge over Netflix as additional shopping, music, and gaming benefits play well for the platform in retaining customer base. 

India’s video streaming market is projected to record a compounded annual growth rate of more than 20% to touch $13 billion–$15 billion over the next decade, riding on original content and pricing innovations, as per a report by Deloitte.

A 2021 market report from research firm Media Partners Asia says Disney+Hotstar is India's largest OTT provider which leads the pack with 51 million, thanks to its cricket offerings. Amazon Prime is the second-largest player with 22.3 million subscribers in India while Netflix has approximately 6.1 million.

“India is a land of stories. This era is the renaissance of Indian entertainment. We are story chasers. We will go across the length and breadth of the country to chase stories and empower creators.",  said Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video, who developed and launched blockbuster Indian content such as ‘Mirzapur’,  ‘Made In Heaven’ and ‘Paatal Lok’, while speaking at the gala event. 

“India is amongst the fastest-growing markets for Prime and APV. Our investments in content across 10 languages, both originals and films, have helped us grow in the country”, added, Amazon Prime Video India Director and Country General Manager, Gaurav Gandhi. 

India’s media and entertainment industry is estimated to be USD 30 billion. India's video-streaming market alone is expected to grow to USD 12.5 billion in 2030 from USD 1.5 billion in 2021, RBSA Advisors speculates.

“Movies made in Indian languages are being watched in about 150 countries, with international viewers accounting for 15% to 20% of their total audiences. That means APV’s India outreach will have a global impact and help it to expand its subscribers base globally,” an industry expert said.