Flipkart To Launch Free Video Streaming Service: Report

Flipkart seems to be gearing up to launch its own free video streaming service soon. The service is expected to hit the online space in the coming months with content from international and production houses.

The content will be a mix of short films, full-length movies, and episodic series.

This could be a beneficial move given the upcoming festive season that accounts for a significant share in annual sales volumes for the e-commerce players.

It also seems that the launch of these new services is part of Flipkart's attempt to increase its user base, that's why it is looking at content as engagement. Its rival Amazon also has its Prime Video service that accounts for a huge user base. The subscribers not only get the latest content, but also offer added benefits while shopping through its online store.

The company CEO, Kalyan Krishnamurthy also intimated that the company doesn't want to restrict itself to only being an e-commerce player. So Flipkart will be using this platform as an engagement opportunity. The company seems to have invested a lot in this new venture, however, it wouldn't shift its focus from catering to the e-commerce segment.

"We have a lot of investment going into this. Apart from shopping, we also want users to spend time on the platform and engage. We will use the content as an engagement opportunity...we will continue being an e-commerce platform," PTI quoted Krishnamurthy.

Also, Flipkart's entry comes at a time when Netflix has announced its cheapest plan, which is restricted to single device usage.

To recall, Flipkart was acquired by US retail giant Walmart in 2018. With the completion of the investment, Walmart now holds approximately 77 percent of Flipkart. The remainder of the business is held by other shareholders, including Tencent, Tiger Global and Microsoft Corp.

Our Thoughts

Flipkart has announced its plans when players like Amazon India is are also providing the same services through its Amazon Prime subscription which bundles video streaming and one -day shipping along with original content.

The service is available at Rs.999 annually and Rs.129 a month. And Flipkart service is still at a nascent stage so we are yet to discover the payment model for the service. Furthermore, Flipkart will face strong competition from established players like Hotstar and Netflix. So if the new service wants to build a name for itself, it should bring a disruptive offering to the table.