Flipkart to launch a free video streaming service before Diwali to take on Amazon

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart now has plans to start a free video streaming service in the coming months. The service would be available to members of the Flipkart Plus loyalty program ahead of the Diwali shopping season.According to MoneyControl, the service is currently being tested in beta mode and would be ready for launch by September.

No original shows… for now

The same source points out that Flipkart won’t go down the Amazon and Netflix path and produce originals. Flipkart’s video streaming service will instead license content from the likes of Walt Disney Co for international content and Balaji Telefilms for local content.[caption id="attachment_6324241" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

The logo of India's e-commerce firm Flipkart. Reuters[/caption]However, that does not rule out the possibility for originals as insiders said that in-house content could come at a later date.

Getting a free Flipkart video streaming subscription

As per the source, Flipkart’s video-streaming service will be available for free similar to its no-subscription free loyalty program called Flipkart Plus that was launched in 2018.Customers shopping at Flipkart can become members of the program by collecting 300 “super coins”. These super coins can be gathered at the rate of 2 for every Rs 100 spent on the shopping website.Users can also exchange these super coins for various items like flight tickets, food delivery, car rentals and other online subscriptions.In contrast, Amazon’s Prime service currently costs users Rs 999 per year or Rs 129 per month.