Amazon Preview debuts in India

E-commerce major Amazon has quietly launched its ‘Amazon Preview’ feature in India which lets select subscribers have a look at yet-to-be-released Amazon Prime shows and share their feedback. The feature has been rolled out recently in India but it's been available in the US and several other countries for some time.

According to an email sent by Amazon India to its subscribers, the new feature will get access to sneak peeks on what is to come before their wider release. Amazon Preview would also allow subscribers to pass on opinions and feedback on a variety of concepts, trailers and series.

Launched in 2013, the feature has been quite popular in the US as it is a window for fans to help shape movies, storyboards, and TV series. The user gets an email to view and provide feedback on projects before they go live on the streaming platform.

In India, the participants are asked to respond to a content survey attached with the email to become a member of Amazon Preview. While it's not clear how users are selected to become screeners, the feature is yet to be visible on its official website in India or its streaming platform Prime Video’s local edition.

Amazon Preview’s foray comes at a time when OTT platforms are gaining even more traction and engagement amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a recent report by app intelligence and data platform Sensor Tower, India grabbed the pole position for Amazon Prime Video downloads with 29.5% market share in 13.5 million worldwide downloads in June. 

While Amazon recently disclosed that over a million Prime subscribers shopped during the recently concluded Prime Day, analysts and several media reports in the past have maintained that it has many more subscribers than the numbers who shopped on the e-commerce giant’s marketplace in August.