Amogh Dusad & Aruna Daryanani chart the future roadmap for Amazon MX Player

With over a hundred new shows announced, Amazon MX Player is setting an ambitious benchmark in the streaming industry. In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Amogh Dusad, Head of Content, and Aruna Daryanani, Director at Amazon MX Player, share insights into their content strategy, ad innovations, and how they balance reality shows, international content, and Indian originals.

Discussing the challenge of balancing various genres, Amogh Dusad acknowledged the scale of their content slate. He said, “The aggregate number looks staggering; I don’t think any service has attempted to produce this many shows in a year. However, our approach is structured, dividing the slate into multiple content categories to ensure a consistent cadence of excitement and engagement.”

The hundred new shows are strategically split into mass-appeal titles, such as Aashram and Hunter, alongside young adult-themed shows like Campus Beats and Jamnapaar. According to Dusad, the success of these returning seasons reinforces their commitment to engaging viewers who have grown attached to specific characters and storylines.

“We are also doubling down on our MX AC (Asian Content) offering, which has garnered significant consumer love. Higher SEC females primarily engage with Korean, Turkish, and Mandarin content, so we are strengthening this category, planning to release over 60 shows in 2025,” he added.

Movies also remain a key category. “We have a vast catalogue of over a thousand films, including dubbed classics and iconic titles, all available for free to our customers,” Dusad explained, adding, “With Prime Video titles also coming in, such as Jailer, our movie offering continues to evolve.”

Amazon MX Player has pioneered ad innovations, offering brands unique engagement opportunities. Aruna Daryanani highlighted the platform’s advantage. She said, “We provide brands with incredibly strong shopping signals, thanks to Amazon’s extensive first-party data. These insights help brands target the right audiences effectively.”

Discussing successful brand integrations, she added, “We work with brands across industries, including those that sell on Amazon and those that do not. Our ad tech innovations, such as shoppable ads and immersive ad formats, allow brands to communicate their message in a highly relevant and engaging manner.”

With the changing viewing habits of audiences, Amazon MX Player is launching Fatafat, a short-form content format. “Fatafat is designed for consumers who may not always have the time to binge-watch longer episodes. These two-minute episodes, spanning 80 episodes per story, function like reels, allowing viewers to consume content in bite-sized portions,” Daryanani explained.

Ads for Fatafat will be seamlessly integrated. “We won’t insert ads in the middle of episodes, but rather place them strategically after every five episodes,” she added.

Amazon MX Player is also revolutionising ad placements with immersive, contextual shopping experiences. Daryanani elaborated, “No one watches ads with the same intensity as a show. Our innovation ensures that when an ad plays, the landing page on Amazon opens directly below the video, allowing users to browse products without disrupting their viewing experience. This enhances brand recall and allows seamless shopping integration.”

The immersive ad experience has seen successful implementations, such as the World Gold Council campaign. “We displayed gold jewellery below the video ad on full screen, making it visually striking and ensuring immediate consumer engagement,” she added.

With the rise of Connected TV (CTV), Amazon MX Player is adapting its content strategy to match audience preferences. “Living room devices typically attract viewers over 28-30 years old, who prefer watching on larger screens. Shows like Chidiya Udd and Aashram will have a massive audience on CTV,” Daryanani noted. “Meanwhile, younger viewers continue to consume content on mobile devices, which remains our strongest category.”

The growing prominence of OTT platforms has led to a shift in advertising spends, with brands now considering them as direct competitors to General Entertainment Channels (GECs).

“The TV ecosystem has been around for a long time, but as Karan mentioned in his presentation, we are now as large as some of the top GEC channels in the country,” Daryanani concluded.

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