Prime Video adds new Hollywood movies to rental service

New Delhi: On-demand streaming service Amazon Prime Video that launched Prime Video Store, a transaction-video-on-demand (TVoD) offering last year, has added Hollywood hits such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inglorious Basterds, Jerry Maguire, Little Women, and Good Fellas to its library.

The pay-per-view service allows Prime subscribers as well as non-subscribers to access movies on rent. Users have to click on a separate tab on the app and website to access the pay-per-view service, with prices ranging from ₹69 to ₹499 for one-time access. The film will be available for 30 days but must be viewed within a 48-hour window.

The pay-per-view model continues to remain niche in India. Media industry experts point out that these services offer limited choice of content, making it less appealing. Further, as most consumers have resumed outdoor entertainment activities and many have ongoing annual OTT subscriptions, pay-per-view, also called transaction video-on-demand (TVoD) has not emerged as a preferred mode to watch content. It is also unlikely to challenge the subscription or free model in terms of reach.

As concerns about the pandemic have lessened, consumers have largely returned to old habits. Today, Indian audiences are visiting theatres for the experience of watching a film, and most consumers already have ongoing subscriptions to all the major OTT platforms. TVoD is more premium and thus, by definition, not mass market and unlikely to challenge subscription or free distribution models in terms of reach. It is, however, an important tool for the content rights owner to maximize the lifetime value of the content.

TVoD continues to have niche traction in India due to the cost barrier. In 2021, only 11.5% of the OTT universe were paying for at least one SVoD app.