Prime Video Top International Execs Say Cinema Experience Remains ‘Magical' Alongside Streaming Push, at AVIA Conference: ‘We Believe in the Theatrical Window'
Despite the streaming revolution reshaping entertainment consumption worldwide, Prime Video's top international executives remain steadfast believers in the enduring power of theatrical exhibition.
'We understand that people are selective about what they choose to watch in the theatre, but we think that the opportunity to bring audiences together and have a theatrical experience is still pretty magical,' said Kelly Day, head of international and VP at Prime Video, during a fireside chat at AVIA's Future of Video India conference. 'We believe in the theatrical window.'
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Day's remarks came during her appearance alongside Gaurav Gandhi, VP for Asia Pacific and MENA at Prime Video, at the inaugural World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai. They are in sharp contrast to Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos, who said, also at the WAVES conference: 'I assure you that nobody, except for distributors, are talking about windows.'
The executive revealed plans for theatrical distribution while explaining Prime Video's dual-track strategy that bridges traditional cinema and streaming. 'We're going to continue to experiment to make sure that we not only maximize the opportunity around the films, but also make sure that we can deliver them to customers wherever they want to watch them. Our ambition is to produce around 14–15 titles a year for global theatrical distribution,' Day said.
This balancing act reflects Prime Video's broader strategy of becoming a comprehensive entertainment destination. 'We think that it is unique. It starts with how we want to be the first place that people think of when they want to watch something,' Day explained, acknowledging that as a streaming service, they 'can't necessarily produce everything that hundreds of millions of customers all over the world might be in the mood to watch.'
Gandhi highlighted the service's expansive entertainment hub proposition in India, which now includes '25+ partners already,' part of a growing network that includes 'hundreds of add-on subscription partners' globally, with markets like Japan featuring '70+ partners.'
The executives pointed to innovation in India's rental market, with Gandhi noting, 'We are doing category creation for TVOD in India. We have 7000+ titles on the rental service, and we see around 60% of those rented every month. We see rentals coming from 95% of India's pin codes.'
Day positioned Prime Video's global footprint as 'relatively unique,' operating in 'a little over 200 countries and territories' with 'just over 200 million Prime customers globally.' The service functions differently across regions, with Prime Video bundled with shipping benefits, music, and games in approximately 25 countries, while operating as a standalone streaming service elsewhere.
India's significance to the streaming giant was repeatedly emphasized, with Gandhi declaring it 'a super important locale for Prime Video' that 'continues to be a big growth engine' for both acquiring new customers and engaging existing Prime members.
Beyond its consumer importance, Gandhi highlighted India's role as 'a big content hub,' boasting 'one of the largest slates of original content outside of the U.S.' This content enjoys international appeal, with 'about 25% of our viewing actually comes from outside the country.'
India also serves as 'a big innovation hub' for Prime Video's product development, Gandhi said, pioneering offerings like the mobile edition plan and multiple Prime membership tiers including Prime and Prime Lite. These innovations allow the service to segment customers based on needs before expanding successful concepts to other markets.
Gandhi concluded by highlighting Prime Video's programming strategy across India's linguistic diversity: 'We program here in 10 languages. As a streaming service you want to segment your offerings and you want to offer customer the language of their choice, but you also want customers to experiment with other languages. That playbook is so unique for India that we are learning from India and following it wherever we have multiple languages.'
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