Indian OTT platform, MX Player, has raised $110 million (₹775 crore) in fresh funding and the funds have come from Tencent and Times Internet, the promoter group.
MX Player boasts of 175 million monthly active users within the country and 275 million worldwide. The startup claims it has grown to be the second largest video streaming OTT platform in the country within a very short span of time. The operations commenced only this February. The company offers offline video playback, video streaming and music streaming and calls it ‘everytainment’. It has taken the app beyond Indian shores and it can be downloaded in five countries now. Times Internet is the major stake holder, having acquired the company from the Chinese video playback firm Zenjoy.
After Times Internet took over, it has revamped the content and currently offers its users a wide online streaming library of over 150,000 hours of content from TV, web series, movies and music videos across 10 languages including more than 20 MX Original & Exclusive Series with genres ranging across drama, comedy, reality and romance. The funds now raised will be deployed in technology, talent, and in expanding the content base.
The MX Player app is present in practically all kinds of hardware, like smartphones, Android and iOS and included in some of the TV streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Android TV.
For the Chinese investor Tencent, this is the first time it is making an investment in MX Player. Both MX Player and Tencent have issued statements indicating how much they appreciate the association and how it will prove useful for both going ahead. Tencent had earlier invested in another music streaming platform in India, Gaana.
The market in India for over the top (OTT) video streaming business is currently estimated to be around ₹23,000 crore ($3.3 billion). More importantly, it is predicted to grow at a healthy 29% annually. At this rate, it could grow into a ₹62,000 crore ($8.9 billion) industry in the next five years, according to a recent KPMG report.