Amazon’s Acquisition of MX Player Unites Two Major Ad-Supported Streaming Platforms
Trilegal advised MX Media group companies on the acquisition of its ‘MX Player’ OTT platform by Amazon. The Corporate team advising on the deal was led by Partner Nikhil Sachdeva, who was assisted by attorneys Mayank Malhotra, Tvisha Dikshit and Navya Bhayana.
Amazon has successfully acquired MX Player (Company), India’s leading free ad-supported streaming platform, marking a significant step in the company’s strategy to strengthen its position in the competitive OTT market. This acquisition brings together Amazon miniTV and MX Player, merging the two platforms into one unified service, Amazon MX Player, which now boasts over 250 million unique users as of September 2024.
The service offers a vast array of content, including a rich selection of original shows, international programs, and a variety of local content available in multiple Indian languages. Despite its large user base, Company faced financial challenges leading to its acquisition. A legal dispute arose when Sony India (Culver Max Entertainment) filed a petition with the Delhi High Court to protect INR 31 crore in dues from MX Player’s parent company in Singapore, which had significant outstanding debts. Sony’s legal actions aimed to prevent the potential sale of Company’s assets from bypassing their claims, just as Amazon emerged as the frontrunner to purchase the company.
Company’s transformation from a basic media player to a dominant streaming service is notable. Acquired by Times Internet in 2018 for $140 million, the platform quickly expanded its offerings, licensing content and producing popular original series like Aashram and Dharavi Bank. Although MX Player captured a significant user base, particularly in India’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities, it struggled to convert this audience into paying subscribers, a challenge that has lingered despite its broad reach.
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