Prime Video’s Kelly Day, Gaurav Gandhi Break Down Asia Growth Plans: ‘India’s Been an Incredible Success for Us’

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video is bullish about the large, diverse and volatile Asian streaming market, driven by growth in India and Japan, the streamer’s top executives responsible for the region have said. The region’s online video component, excluding China, where international streamers cannot be present, is projected to grow at 9.2%, to reach $46 billion by 2028, according to a study from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. The study valued the total video market in Japan at $32 billion, the second largest market in Asia after China.

Prime Video is the market leader in the Japanese streaming space. Gaurav Gandhi, VP, APAC and MENA at Prime Video told Variety, “In Japan we are a very large and interesting business… a combination of licensed as well as originals, we’re doing much more unscripted.” Gandhi provides the example of the “LOL” format that originated from Japan and is franchised around the world. “We’re looking at big manga animation IP and how that can become bigger as well,” Gandhi said.

There has been recent success in manga live action as well, with the success of “The Silent Service” leading to the commissioning of a sequel. Gandhi added that sports is a growth area, as well as local broadcasters signing on to Prime Video’s Channels service. “From a Japan point of view, we are looking at a multitude of categories because we are a much more mature business,” Gandhi said, “There’s so much more opportunity there.” From the $12 billion Korea market, Prime Video is looking at content that works around the world, with Gandhi citing the success of series “Marry My Husband.” It is a different story in Southeast Asia, where recent data from Media Partners Asia shows that the region – that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – added only 1.3 million net new SVOD subscribers in 2023, compared with 11 million in 2022.

But subscription revenues grew at 12.5% to $1.4 billion. Here, the Prime Video model has changed from one based on original productions to one focused instead on licensing. “We have moved to a slightly different model of content sourcing in Southeast Asia, we’re relying much more on deep