Q] With Rise and Fall set to premiere on Amazon MX Player, how does the show align with Amazon Ads’ broader content and advertising strategy?
I’ll start with MX Player. The audience is youthful and highly aspirational, and our content strategy reflects that. Broadly, I divide it into three buckets.
The first is aspirational content that helps audiences get ahead and understand opportunities, like Half CA, Who’s My Guy Next, and Mitti. We also have Titan: The Made in India Story coming soon, with Naseeruddin Shah narrating how Titan became an industry leader. The second bucket is exciting and engaging drama, and the third is content that exposes audiences to new worlds.
Rise and Fall fits across the first two buckets. It’s a story of society, the elites versus the masses, the haves and the have-nots. Ashneer Grover, known for his candour and personal journey, is a perfect fit. The contestants come from all parts of India, some already elite, others aspirational, making the dynamic very compelling.
From an advertiser perspective, the show also offers a wide range of integrations. Partners like Orient and Haier have placements within the penthouse, while Lux is clothing contestants across categories, including innerwear. This layered branding makes the narrative richer. Ultimately, the show aims to inspire, which aligns perfectly with our vision.
Q] Many brands are now investing in launching branded IPs. How does Amazon differentiate itself from its competitors in this space?
Content, both as storytelling and as a driver of brand impressions and demand, is very important. For us, it’s about the quality of the story and the audience we reach. Take Rise and Fall, we’re meeting consumers at multiple touchpoints. MX Player has 1.4 billion downloads and 250 million monthly users; the show will also be available on Prime Video at midnight, and, for the first time, on Sony Entertainment Television six days a week for six weeks after KBC. That level of distribution is unique.
From an Amazon Ads perspective, our strength lies in offering a full funnel, building brands, driving preference, and even sales, because our users are also shopping on Amazon and paying with Amazon Pay.
For example, we have shoppable ads: an in-stream video format where a product overlay leads directly to purchase in one seamless click. It removes friction from both shopping and inspiration, and our ability to deliver that at scale is unmatched.
Q] How are you positioning the show differently for Metro and the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and how do you drive interest?
A good share of our audience comes from metros, but I also look at it as youth versus ‘non-youth’. Our core audience is young, aspirational, and open to new experiences, which shapes both our content and our products. That’s why we attract advertisers ranging from Samsung and Apple to premium durables, makeup brands, and hundreds more—we aim to scale this to thousands.
At the same time, India is not just Mumbai, Delhi, or Bengaluru. Our strength lies in reaching the mass audience and understanding them across multiple decision points. With Amazon Ads, we can not only tell stories but also clearly show advertisers what impact their campaigns had downstream, making us a strong partner in both reach and monetisation.
Q] E-commerce advertising is booming. How is Amazon placing itself in that market?
I can’t speak for what others are doing, but Amazon’s approach is built on leveraging world-class tech and trillions of shopping signals to create engaging ad formats and experiences. What sets us apart is our ability to engage consumers across multiple touchpoints, not just on Amazon MX Player and Prime Video, but also through Amazon DSP across video, display, and search. Importantly, we don’t just focus on the moment of purchase we show advertisers the downstream impact as well.
Q] As retail media networks gain global momentum, how does Amazon Ads position itself within the wider digital advertising landscape?
We’re a digital platform that has performed well and aims to keep growing by following the consumer journey. Whether they’re watching content or shopping, Amazon is present at every stage. We also use our technology to deliver more relevant content, with signals leveraged in a privacy-safe way through Amazon DSP. In that sense, we position ourselves as a partner that can do it all for brands, helping them drive business results, build their brand, gain consumer insights, and ultimately becoming one of their most valuable business partners.
Q] There's a lot of buzz about content privacy. How does Amazon Ads balance hyper localisation with content privacy?
The most important thing for us is customer trust and that applies to both consumers and advertisers. What I would say right now is what we're interested in is giving the most interesting ad to users and maintaining their privacy. And our technology allows people to do that.
Q] How has Amazon’s new ad-supported format, where subscribers still see ads, impacted revenue? And how have consumers and advertisers responded to it?
From an advertiser perspective, it's done very well. We have lots of brands that are participating. We have given consumers a choice. They can choose to take a plan which has ads and a plan where they can opt out of ads and that's a fair statement.
Q] Previously, consumers moved from TV because it had ads between every show, while OTT was largely ad-free. Now, with Netflix being the only ad-free subscription option, do you think viewers might return to TV, or will they tune out of ad-supported OTT content?
I can't really speak to linear TV. I will say this, linear still has a very large audience. Rise and Fall will be available on Sony and Sony Entertainment TV and there's a value in that. Our experiences, I suspect for consumers are much less intrusive and much more consumer-friendly than what you see on linear TV today.
Q] With Connected TV and OTT growing rapidly, what role does Amazon's ecosystem play in the ad strategy for India?
We like to be seen as ourselves, a partner who can build your brand, a partner who can help you understand and reach your consumers, both future and current, and ultimately we like to help you drive your business. Using our technology we're able to do that at scale. That's fundamentally how we like to be seen for ourselves.
Q] Talking about consumers, Indian consumers are highly discount driven. So how are advertisers using Amazon ads to go beyond deals and create stronger brand narratives?
I’d question the idea that India is just a discount-driven market. While everyone values a good deal, true value comes from a brand’s promise and product promise best conveyed through storytelling. That’s where we help, by enabling advertisers to tell their stories through video, brand shops, reviews, and immersive content that showcases products in the right environment, not just at a price point.
Q] We have seen the rise of regional content and Tier 2, Tier 3 markets. How is Amazon Ads enabling brands to reach those markets?
Amazon MX Player today reaches 250 million people with 1.4 billion downloads, which naturally extends far beyond the traditional Bombay, Delhi, and Bangalore markets. On Amazon, we engage 350 million consumers. What are often labelled as Tier 2 markets are, in my view, simply aspirational consumers. Incomes in India are doubling every seven to eight years, and these consumers are becoming more relevant and increasingly comfortable buying digitally. That’s how we see it.
Q] We are at the start of the festive season. What are some key insights and trends that you are noticing for the Indian festive market?
We’ve noticed that the product discovery phase is starting earlier each year, with spikes in interest for traditional gifting categories as early as July–August. During Diwali, our partners also launch many new products and want to see how they perform. Today’s consumers aren’t just looking for the lowest price, they are the most demanding, seeking trust in both the product and delivery. That’s an area where we excel.
Q] Looking ahead, what are some trends in the larger advertising landscape that you are noticing?
The major trend we’re seeing is the rise of SMB advertisers. More small businesses, which traditionally couldn’t buy video ads, are now using tools like Sponsored TV to automatically create videos, run campaigns, and set their own budgets. This is scaling rapidly. Historically, only a few thousand advertisers could use television, but we now see the potential for hundreds of thousands, and we expect this growth to continue over the next two to three years.
