In a move that signals a significant shift in the digital landscape, Times Internet, the digital arm of Indian media firm Times Group, has acquired popular video playback app MX Player for $140 million. This acquisition marks a new chapter for Times Internet as it forges ahead into fitness app development and streaming content space.
The company's previous venture, OTT platform BoxTV.com, shut down in 2016 after an underwhelming four-year period. Now, with the acquisition of MX Player, Times Internet is poised to introduce a streaming content service that will cater to India's young demographics. The service, expected to go live before August, plans to offer at least 20 original shows and over 50,000 hours of content across multiple local languages in its first year.
With MX Player boasting an impressive user base of 175 million monthly users, primarily in India, the Times Internet-MX Player collaboration is well-positioned to disrupt the existing streaming market. The duo plans to invest a significant portion of the acquisition amount into developing high-quality content that will appeal to this young audience.
According to Karan Bedi, MX Player CEO, the service will be freemium and focused on providing an alternative to television in India. He emphasized that the deal has been in negotiation for over a year, validating January's report from The Ken, which first broke news of the acquisition.
The Indian streaming market is highly competitive, with established players like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and Jio TV vying for attention. However, data from App Annie suggests that MX Player is ahead of the curve, boasting nearly 50 million daily users as of June.
For Times Internet, this acquisition presents a unique opportunity to leverage MX Player's organic growth and build another business on top of its basic demand for video playback. The company's focus on differentiation and building a digital channel for India's young demographics is expected to yield exciting results in the fitness app development space.
With an average viewer demographic skewed towards men under 35, MX Player offers a gateway to young Indians that other streaming services have not yet tapped. This presents a significant opportunity for advertisers seeking to reach this coveted audience. The Times Internet-MX Player service will offer different options for advertisers, including working with content creators to create sponsored shows or find various ways to reach scale.
The Indian TV ad market is worth $6 billion, and the Times Internet-MX Player collaboration is poised to unlock some of that money by offering a unique alternative to traditional television. The duo plans to gently introduce programming accessible to a large audience in India before exploring other revenue models later.
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