By Prince Osuagwu, Hi-Tech Editor

*Amazon locks horn with Netflix
*MTN becomes tie breaker, joins forces with Amazon
*Delivers Mobile Edition of Prime Video to subscribers

The usual battles in the tech sector are gradually giving way. It used to range from competiting on orthodox networks, voice revenue and the entire network, backbone talks that give the people techie-phobia.

Competition is now moving into tech entertainment and for the first time, the battles are going to be entertaining.

How about this! After a massive launch in three countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines, early August 2022, Amazon Prime video launched a localized version of its streaming service in Nigeria and tagged it Prime Video Naija.

Though a global streaming subscription service, with over 200 million subscribers worldwide and accessible in over 100 countries, Amazon still wanted a piece of the cake in Nigerian bourgeoning mobile market.

The move obviously pitched it against Netflix, the world’s biggest streaming company, Netflix which has already spread tentacles like a colossus in the Nigerian video streaming market, with a sizeable audience.

However, Amazon did not throw its hat into the ring blindly. It came with marketing strategies to compete effectively. First, it quickly launched discounted Amazon prime membership, then, again, seven days of free streaming service and increased investments in local content production for Nigerian audiences.

It went to the social media to announce that Nigerian customers can stream more than 20,000 original TV shows and movies within its ecosystem.

To deeply entrench itself, it also announced that though a global service, Nigerian subscribers can pay in local currency   – the Naira, even as it reduced services to ¦ 2,300 per month. That price contrasts with Netflix’s basic plan category of service which limits subscribers to watching on a single screen at a time, and also limited to a number of phones or tablets he can have downloads on, but costs N2,900 per month.

MTN joins forces with Amazon

But now, it appears the strategies are endless as it has again linked the largest mobile operator in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, sitting at the top of mobile market with over 75 million mobile subscribers.

MTN Nigeria just announced it has teamed up with Amazon’s global streaming platform, Prime Video, to offer  Prime Video Mobile Edition  to its subscribers in Nigeria.

The product is a single-device, mobile-only subscription which will give MTN customers access to Prime Video’s full catalogue of 9,000+ movies and 1,500+ TV shows.

MTN makes the package available with an affordable and dedicated data package for streaming and downloading. 

MTN says subscribers will enjoy a 30-day free trial with 2.5GB of Video Data, exclusively for the Prime Video app. After the free trial, they can enjoy Prime Video Mobile Edition for N800 per month only, with their airtime. 

The telco promises that a few customers in Nigeria would be eligible to sign up for Prime Video and enjoy it for the first three months and thereafter, start subscribing, using their airtime, for for just N2, 300 per month.

A Prime Video subscription gives access to the vast catalogue across TV, mobile and tablet devices, enabling subscribers to stream and download in high definition, on up to three devices simultaneously.  The service is riding on the 5G Network which the telco launched recently to get service edge

MTN Nigeria’s Chief Digital Officer, A’isha Umar Mumuni said: “We are excited to offer Prime Video subscriptions to millions of Nigerians who will be entertained on their own terms – where and when they want it. Video-on-demand has become a major part of our lives and this launch offer is important to make every customer’s journey to their desired content more accessible and affordable. The Prime Video platform boasts of many titles, with over 150 Nollywood titles and several Nigerian Originals currently in the pipeline. We are confident this relationship will bring value to both our customers and the Nigerian movie industry” she added.