- General
- August 5, 2019
- 5 minutes read
Flipkart Said To Be Planning Free Video Streaming Service
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon image: Walmart According to a Bloomberg piece, Walmart’s Flipkart is planning to launch a free Indian video…
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| Walmart CEO Doug McMillon
image: Walmart
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According to a Bloomberg piece, Walmart’s Flipkart is planning to launch a free Indian video streaming service in coming months, in what seems like a jab against rival Amazon. Bloomberg reports Flipkart is planning to roll out the free video streaming service for members of its Flipkart Plus loyalty program by September. Bloomberg, citing unnamed persons familiar with Flipkart’s plans, also says the streaming service is already in beta mode.
According to its [Bloomberg’s] sources, Flipkart wouldn’t produce originals but will instead license content from the likes of Disney and several local studios. Original content could come later, they also said.
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| Persons work at a Flipkart office
image: Walmart
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A Flipkart video streaming service would be a step in competing against Amazon, which already has an established video streaming presence in India atop a strong e-commerce business. Amazon Prime Video has good ground with India, with its own original shows and a collection of Bollywood and regional language films that its users can stream. The video streaming service is bundled as part of an annual Prime subscription that also offers free delivery, music streaming, reward points, exclusive deals, and access to a library of e-books. An annual Prime subscription in India costs 999 rupees ($14) annually or 129 rupees ($1 plus 80 cents) monthly.
According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group, the Indian video streaming market was worth $500 million in 2018 and could swell to $5 billion by 2023. Walmart is likely looking to gain some ground in such rapidly growing market. Walmart stepped up its rivalry against Amazon when it paid $16 billion for a majority stake in Flipkart last year. The retail giant also invested an extra $2 billion to fund Flipkart’s operations.
According to a last year report by British investment bank Barclays, Flipkart recorded $3.8 billion in revenue for the full year ending March 31 2018, compared to $3.2 billion for Amazon India. But that same report placed Amazon’s annual Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) at $7.5 billion, compared to Flipkart’s $6.2 billion. It’s obvious both companies are battling heavily with each other for a lead in the Indian e-commerce market.
