Amazon in talks to acquire MX Player from Times Internet

Karan Bedi

Reports from India suggest that Amazon is talking to Times Internet about the possible acquisition of MX Player, one of the country’s fastest growing streaming services.

As revealed by TechCrunch, there are no guarantees that the negotiations will lead to a deal, but if Amazon does manage to secure control of MX Player it would be a significant boost in the company’s battle for market share with Disney Hotstar.

No price tag has been put on the potential deal, but Times Internet paid $140m for MX Player in 2018. Since then, the platform has grown to more than 300 million users globally, with 200 million in India. It has also started producing original content.

Amazon isn’t the only company eyeing MX Player, however, with Zee-Sony among others believed to have express an interest in acquiring the platform.

Several factors explain MX Player’s rapid rise to prominence under CEO Karan Bedi, the chief architect of the platform’s success story. One is that it has gone down an AVOD route, offering a wide array of content for free. Another is that it was created to work reliably on low-cost Android mobiles – opening up a huge potential audience in India and beyond. The platform was also quick to get into short form – taking advantage of the government’s decision in 2020 to ban social platform TikTok.

Disney Hotstar is the streaming platform to beat in India at the moment, but Amazon is a serious rival. Other players include Netflix and Paramount+ which will launch this year.

While Amazon’s primary reason for acquiring MX Player would be to build its presence in India, the platform has also established itself in markets including the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.