BENGALURU: Amazon on Saturday announced the launch of a free video streaming, in-app feature called miniTV. The adsupported streaming service is its first such initiative globally and the e-tailer is targeting users outside its Prime subscription base, which comprises millions of users who can also avail the Amazon Prime Video service for `999 a year.
With the new free video streaming service, however, Amazon is moving closer towards setting up a super app with a wide array of services such as payments, e-commerce, and food delivery available on one platform. Amazon’s rival Flipkart also offers OTT streaming services within the app, a feature launched in 2019.
“With the launch of miniTV, Amazon.in shopping app is now a single destination for customers to shop from millions of products, make payments and watch free entertainment videos,” the e-tailer said in a statement.
With this launch, Amazon now has two video entertainment offerings: miniTV and Prime Video. miniTV is completely free and it does not require a separate app, while Prime Video requires a Prime subscription and offers a large collection both Indian and foreign content. Viewers can access Prime Video on the app or stream it on their smart TVs.
The miniTV feature on Amazon app is available for Android phone users (which constitutes a majority of India’s smartphone users.