Walmart is ready to take on Amazon and Netflix in streaming too – via its Indian subsidiary Flipkart

• Flipkart is all set to launch its own streaming platform.
• Business Insider India has independently verified the news that the e-commerce giant is set to announce the launch soon.
• This move would put the Walmart-owned Flipkart in the territory that is currently dominated by Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Walmart-owned Flipkart is set to take the battle with Amazon to a new level, and pick up a few more competitors like Netflix, Hotstar along the way, as it moves to launch its own OTT platform.

Business Insider India has been able to verify its plans with an Indian award-winning film producer, who is in talks to work on content for Flipkart’s new OTT.

“I have known about this launch and have been in discussion for content for the Flipkart OTT. It’s very exciting as Flipkart has a massive Indian audience reach already,” said the producer.

Sources say that the Flipkart OTT is ready to launch, and an announcement in this regard is expected soon. The e-commerce major’s rewards programme subscribers Flipkart Plus, will be offered the OTT platform’s content service as well.

Flipkart’s CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said last year that they are looking at partnerships for its content foray. Also, Flipkart was also known to have held talks to buy a stake in the Indian OTT platform Hotstar in 2018.

Content wars in India

Flipkart’s entry into OTT will place it right into Amazon Prime Video’s sweet spot – which bundles content with a prime membership for its e-commerce platform. Prime Video shot to popularity because of its affordable plans which offered all its benefits – free and faster shipping of products, video and music – all in one membership.

Each of these business segments fuel the other, netting more millennials into its fold. Amazon Prime also produced Indian shows like Made in Heaven, 4 More Shots Please, tailoring it to local needs.

Flipkart will also enter an extremely competitive market where large media groups, production companies and even Bollywood’s actors are making a beeline into web series. Even as the Indian internet users are as high as 500 million, they have multiple options of innovative creators who are all set to woo them. And, Flipkart now wants a piece of this pie.

American streaming giant Netflix too spiced up its offerings to turn truly local. It had forged many content partnerships and also started its Netflix originals in India to launch popular shows like Sacred Games, Lust Stories, Leila, Little Things, among others. It also recently announced its cheapest plans ever with a ₹199 mobile-only subscription plan for Indian users.

Hotstar is yet another big player from the Star stable, which currently boasts of 17.7 million monthly active users, which is believed to be the highest in the market. India’s homegrown OTT platforms too are catching up with the race. ALTBalaji and Zee5 teamed up to co-create 60 original Hindi series, which will be streaming on both platforms.

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