- MX Player has the highest percentage of loyal viewers amounting to 21% despite big OTT players in the Indian market.
- Times Internet acquired MX Player in 2018 for $200 million.
Indian online video streaming market has grown with leaps and bounds in recent times. It is going with such a pace that everyone wants to join the race. In one such attempt next in the line are Chinese conglomerate Tencent and payments major Paytm who are planning to invest in Times Internet-owned streaming service MX Player as reported by Bloomberg.
Paytm and Tencent- Will it be an alliance?
It is interesting to see that Alibaba and Tencent portfolio joining hands to back an Indian company. In China also these two giants have rarely come together in order to invest in any start-up barring few exceptions.
Reports mentioned that Tencent and Paytm are in advance stage to put in $100 million in the OTT firm. Participation of Tencent with Paytm appears unlikely but although Tencent has backed Times Internet’s music streaming app Gaana.
Tencent has no stake in Indian OTT space but it has been looking to enter the fast-paced growing video streaming market ignited by high-speed and cheap 4G date. The Chinese entity has recently launched a video streaming service in Thailand to widen the horizon.
This deal will provide Tencent a foothold in India whereas Paytm would enter the already crowded video streaming race. Paytm have been scouting OTT space for 2 years now.
MX Player has a good user base
As the reported numbers suggest, MX Player boasts of 175 million monthly, 70 million daily active users and around 650 million downloads worldwide. It was acquired by Times Internet in 2018 for $200 million.
MX Player has a significant user base in smaller towns and competes with players such as Hotstar, Zee5, Voot and several others. With a hybrid model (paid + free) Hotstar owns the leader position in the video streaming space.
Although it is very less probable that Tencent and Paytm would invest in MX Player together if they do so it will be the first time where Tencent and portfolio of its arch nemesis come together.
Most of the OTT platforms are equally popular in metros as well as non-metros such as Patna, Kanpur, and Jaipur. MXPlayer and Hotstar have the highest share of OTT audience.
It seems a wise investment given the increase in Indian smartphone user base and internet user base. While nothing is impossible when it comes to business, it would be exciting to see if the duo comes together to back MX Player.
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