Prime Video India has signed an interesting content deal with Paramount Global Content Distribution, the parent company of platforms such as Paramount Plus and Paramount Pictures. Under the deal, Prime Video India will be the exclusive home of latest and older Paramount titles in India. The series available for immediate streaming on Prime Video India at launch include The Stand, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, and Star Trek: Discovery. All four have begun streaming on Prime Video India already.
Also available for streaming on Prime Video India will be the following Paramount series – Californication, Dexter, The Good Wife, NCIS, Blue Bloods, The Good Fight, Madam Secretary, Reign, The Great, Seal Team, Under the Dome, Munich Games and Parot. Several are already streaming on Prime Video India since some time, while others will be made available for streaming soon.
The announcement of Prime Video India’s content licensing deal with Paramount Global Content Distribution comes on the eve of Voot’s merger with Jio Cinema. The new deal effectively underlines the changing dynamics of the Indian streaming space. Old ties are being severed, while new ones are being made. Paramount Global earlier had a content distribution partnership with Reliance and Viacom, the two entities that are on the verge of a much-hyped merger. With Voot no longer associated with Paramount, Prime Video India has smelled a lucrative opportunity and rushed in for the kill.
The Indian OTT space will likely see further churn in the coming days, as new equations come about and old ones fade away. Disney Plus Hotstar has recently ended its content distribution partnership with HBO. Everyone is waiting with bated breath to see where HBO content will land next. Likewise, the much-awaited merger of SonyLIV and ZEE5 is also almost complete, now that ZEE5’s outstanding financial issues have been sorted.
Another thing worth noting is that if Paramount Global Content Distribution has agreed to stream its popular shows exclusively on Prime Video in India, it means that their streaming platform Paramount Plus will not launch in India this year, and maybe next year too. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish had confirmed in June 2022 that Paramount Plus will launch in India in 2023. Looks like that’s not happening anytime soon or in the near future.
The Prime Video India – Paramount Global tie up spells trouble for Netflix, Prime Video’s main rival in India. With Prime Video India grabbing lucrative content deals, first with HBO Max, and now with Paramount Global, the streamer has become an even more attractive option for OTT subscribers in India. Now if Prime Video India manages to grab HBO’s content too, it will be full-fledged disaster for Netflix.
Let’s wait and watch what happens next!
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