MUMBAI: Amazon MX Player director & head Karan Bedi took centre stage at Goafest 2025 to make a bold case for India’s free streaming economy-and how advertisers must rethink reach in a post-TV world. His keynote, ‘Free Streaming Revolution: Premium Content, Unique Audience Signals & Measurable Outcomes’, laid out a data-backed blueprint for brand success in the age of immersive digital video.

“Video streaming is the number one activity on smartphones in India”, Bedi said, pointing out it now outranks social media and messaging-even in tier two and tier three cities. Unlike the scattergun attention of UGC platforms, he argued, streaming provides a deeply engaged environment: “When customers are immersed in content, they’re immersed in ads too”.

Digital video advertising in India, he predicted, will surpass television advertising within the next year. “We’re at the cusp”, Bedi noted, adding that advertisers need to pivot their budgets accordingly.

At the heart of Amazon MX Player’s pitch were three pillars—differentiated reach, differentiated content, and contextual ad solutions. With 1.4 billion downloads globally and 250 million monthly active users in India, MX Player offers what Bedi called “very large and very relevant reach”. Over 50 per cent of its users fall within the Sec A and Sec B segments, and nearly 17 per cent of its audience is exclusive to the platform—unduplicated by either UGC platforms or rival streamers.

Importantly, MX Player content remains stable even during large cricketing events—a loyalty metric most platforms can’t match. Bedi credited this to “immersive and relevant storytelling”, backed by data and refined through feedback. The content slate spans drama, romance, dubbed international shows, reality series, and experimental formats like ‘micro-dramas’—bite-sized one to two-minute episodes. More than 100 new shows are planned for 2025, including Rise and Fall, Hunter, and Made in India.

Bedi made a compelling argument for MX Player’s ability to go beyond impressions and deliver brand impact. Using trillions of Amazon shopping signals, the platform enables hyper-targeted ad segmentation—right down to behavioural personas like “health-conscious young parents”. Such targeting, he claimed, leads to 33 per cent higher ad completion and up to 20 per cent stronger brand metrics.

Ad formats range from integrated product showcases and immersive branding to story-embedded placements within shows. “We can help you move from awareness to action”, Bedi said, highlighting Amazon’s full-funnel capabilities—advertisers can run awareness campaigns on MX Player and follow up with conversion targeting on Amazon’s shopping app, or vice versa.

He closed with a rallying cry to marketers: “It’s still day one at Amazon”. With India’s digital video frontier heating up, Bedi’s message was clear—brands that stream smart will sell smarter.