Prime Video is doubling down on its ambitions to become a unified entertainment destination across the Asia-Pacific region, with executives highlighting the expansion of the company’s ecosystem strategy in the session “APAC Playbook: How Prime Video Is Shaping Streaming’s Future” at the APOS conference.
Gaurav Gandhi, Vice President, APAC and ANZ, Prime Video, said the region is a strong testing ground for business models that balance local market needs with a consistent global platform strategy.
“Every market has different strategies,” Gandhi said. “But our goal is to deliver multiple benefits through a consistent business model.”
Rather than positioning itself solely as a streaming service, Prime Video is increasingly focused on becoming an entertainment hub that unifies content, distribution, and consumer convenience under one platform. Gandhi said Prime Video currently works with more than 600 partners around the world as part of its efforts to create a unified viewing experience.
“Our goal is to offer a wide range of choices with high value and convenience,” he said.
Japan and India, Prime Video’s biggest markets in Asia, illustrate how its strategy is adapting to local viewer behavior.
Looking back at the platform’s 10th anniversary in Japan, Keisuke Oishi, country manager for Prime Video Japan, noted that when the service launched in 2015, Japanese consumers were not yet accustomed to subscription streaming, even though the model was already gaining traction in other countries.
Over the past decade, Prime Video has expanded its services from dramas and movies to sports and anime. Oishi highlighted the success of the platform’s live boxing events, which began in 2022 and has grown to 15 events since then, as well as the performance of recent manga-based anime adaptations that resonated with Japanese viewers.
In India, Shirangi Mukherji, director and head of SVOD business at Prime Video India, said viewer loyalty is driven by a combination of local original programming, licensed programming and long-term investment in intellectual property.
Mukherji noted that about 60% of Prime Video India’s originals have returned for additional seasons, while the surge in streaming during the pandemic has accelerated the growth of co-produced and franchise-driven content. She also pointed to Amazon MGM Studios’ recent launch of local operations and the growing popularity of the platform’s movie rental business as signs that Indian audiences are increasingly embracing premium cinematic storytelling at home.
Together, executives painted a picture of a streaming business that is increasingly focused not just on acquiring content, but on building a long-term entertainment ecosystem that can serve diverse audiences across APAC.
