Prime Video‘s top international executives used the stage at Prime Video Presents 2026 in Mumbai to underscore India’s central role in the streamer’s global growth strategy.
Kelly Day, VP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios International, Nicole Clemens, VP of international originals at Amazon MGM Studios, and Gaurav Gandhi, VP for APAC and ANZ at Prime Video, participated in a fireside chat moderated by filmmaker and producer Karan Johar at the event, which also saw Prime Video India unveil a large slate of originals alongside a new theatrical lineup.
Day, making her fourth visit to India in as many years and her third Prime Video Presents, described India as “by far one of the most important markets for us anywhere around the world,” citing the scale of the member base, depth of audience engagement, and the role of Indian originals as a core acquisition driver for the Prime program globally. “It just gets bigger and better every year,” she said.
Clemens, attending for the first time since joining the company last year to lead international originals globally, pointed to the international acceptance of Indian content as central to the platform’s strategy. She noted that 25% of the viewership for Indian Prime Video titles comes from outside India, and that over 60% of the service’s Indian original series have gone to multiple seasons. “The strength of our franchises is in travelability,” she said. “Indian content is core to our international success.”
Gandhi, marking Prime Video’s 10th year in India, outlined four strategic priorities for the next phase of the business: expanding accessibility through tiered offerings and the free ad-supported Amazon MX Player service; deepening the intentional global rollout of Indian content; continuing to build franchise IP; and expanding the platform’s movies business, including through the Amazon MGM Studios India theatrical slate announced at the same event. Indian films already reach 240 countries day-and-date on the service, Gandhi noted, a reach unavailable through traditional theatrical distribution.
Day highlighted India as the source of several business model innovations that Prime Video has since extended globally, including its tiered membership structure and its transactional video-on-demand rental business, which she said the platform pioneered in the country. Content origination has also expanded from an initial Hindi-language focus to Tamil and Telugu, with further language diversification underway through expanded subtitling and dubbing.
On the broader international originals landscape, Clemens said English is “no longer the default language of choice for global storytelling,” pointing to the German series “Maxton Hall” – which she described as Prime Video’s most-watched international series of all time – as evidence of the global appetite for local-language content.
She also flagged K-dramas and Japanese anime and manga-to-live-action adaptations as categories with strong international momentum. For India, she identified young adult content as a growing area of strategic focus. “YA is having a moment not just in India but across the world,” she said, adding that the platform is “keen on expanding that underleveraged audience.”
Source: variety.com
