Amazon is outspending to become number one in digital content race in India

Amazon is not stopping its juggernaut to gain the maximum market share in India and is pumping in money in digital content too.

So far, Amazon has raked in nearly Rs 500 crore to create original content in India, spending more than what India’s most high-profile production houses such as Hotstar, Eros Now, Voot, etc invest.

Amazon Prime Video has invested about one-fourth of its Rs 2,000-crore India budget in local production houses.

While Balaji Telefilm’s ALT's budget for 2017 is about Rs 120 crore, the other providers have allocations under Rs 400 crore each, ET quoted analysts.

Amazon's aggressive bid will take it a level up from Netflix.

"Amazon Prime is definitely giving the best monetary benefits to many of us creatives. Netflix is also paying but there are fewer deals happening where they are concerned,” a film director working with multiple production houses told ET.

ET reported Amazon Prime Video is estimated to have paid Rs 40 crore to Akhtar and his business partner Ritesh Sidhwani's production house Excel Media and Entertainment.

"We are looking at diverse genres. In the long term, our original content will build our brand in India,” said Nitesh Kripalani, country head of Amazon Video India. Told ET, adding “Our aim is to launch our first India original show by the end of March or early April.”

“Domestic video streaming services will have the appetite to sustain losses for two to three years, after which the bosses will start asking budget questions and then you will see a shakeout,” Jehil Thakkar, media and entertainment head at KPMG, told ET.

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