'Prime Video invests heavily in original content in India'

India is one of the top markets worldwide for Amazon’s video streaming service Prime Video, and among the two markets where it disproportionately invests in local content, said Kelly Day, vice-president of international business at the company

- Gaurav Laghate

In an interview, Day provided insights into the over-the-top (OTT) giant’s strategies, challenges and outlook in the dynamic world of streaming content. She spoke about topics ranging from the recent industry labour disputes to content localization, and how data drives content recommendations. Edited excerpts:

What’s your overall view on the recent developments in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and how has it impacted the industry and Prime Video?

We’re very happy that AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) has reached an agreement with WGA. We’re certainly looking forward to the Screen Actors (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists) reaching an agreement hopefully very soon as well. We’re looking forward to everybody getting an equitable resolution and getting back to work. The strike wasn’t great for anyone. Having said that, we have an incredibly diversified business model, which makes us unique when compared to other streaming players in the space. We offer SVoD (subscription video on demand) service in 240+ countries and territories now. We also have an ever-increasing selection through TVoD (transactional video on demand), and Prime Video Channels is live in 17 countries. Besides that, we also have sports, linear channels, fast channels, and AVoD (advertising video on demand) in some markets. Our extensive content library ensures we can continue delivering a very wide selection to our customers.