In-Depth SWOT Analysis of Amazon Prime Video – An American OTT Platform

Updated on: Mar 12, 2022

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In our past article, we have presented the SWOT analysis of one of the most popular OTT platforms, Hotstar. This time we will tackle the SWOT analysis of Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon Prime Video is one of the most famous OTT platforms operating since 2006, owned by Amazon Inc. They have always excited their customers by providing on-demand over-the-top streaming content through tracking and updating according to the customer’s preference.

Another thing that made Amazon Prime Video interesting is their marketing efforts. As everything becomes digitised, it is important to learn digital marketing. If you want to learn more about digital marketing and its different attributes do check out Free Digital Marketing Masterclass by Karan Shah the founder and CEO of IIDE.

In this blog, we will learn about the SWOT analysis of Amazon Prime Video, but before that let’s know about the company.

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About Amazon Prime Video

SWOT Analysis of Amazon Prime Video - Amazon-prime-video

Amazon Prime Video is an OTT streaming platform owned by Amazon Inc. Operating worldwide, the service required a full subscription. It is operating in countries such as the United States, India, UK, Canada, France, Turkey etc. Prime Video is accessible from anywhere in the world (except for Mainland China, Iran, North Korea, and Syria). Residents of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Austria were the only ones who could use it at first.

Amazon Prime Video primarily distributes films and television series produced by Amazon Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals, with the service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services.

It was launched on September 7, 2006. It was first named Amazon Instant Video on Demand. It has access to 5,000 movies and TV shows for members with subscriptions. Amazon Channels, or Prime Video Channels, allow consumers to subscribe to additional video subscription services from different content providers within Prime Video.

 

Quick Stats on Amazon Prime Video
Founder Amazon
Year Founded 2006
Origin The United States
No. of Employees 10000+
Company Type Division of Amazon
Market Cap $187 Billion
Annual Revenue $19.21 Billion (2020)
Net Income/ Profit N/A

 

SWOT Analysis of Amazon Prime Video - Shows on Amazon Prime Video


Products & Services by Amazon Prime Video

Amazon prime video has been in the entertainment sector for more than 15 years.

  • Film distribution
  • Film production
  • Television Distribution
  • Television Production


Competitors of Amazon Prime Video

Amazon’s top competitors are

  • Netflix
  • Disney+
  • Hulu
  • ESPN+
  • Hotstar
  • Zee5
  • Sony Liv


SWOT Analysis of
Amazon Prime Video

SWOT Analysis is a useful technique for developing business strategies for both new and current businesses. This simplified methodology is used to assess a company’s competitive standing. SWOT analysis of Amazon Prime Video can help the organisation develop effective and efficient business strategies.

SWOT Analysis of Amazon Prime Video - SWOT Infographics of Amazon Prime Video

Below is an explicit guide to the SWOT analysis of Amazon Prime Video.

Strengths of Amazon Prime Video

The following are the strengths of amazon prime video.

  • Global Reach: Amazon prime video has a global reach and the platform has a wide set of 175 million users across the world. Prime Video is diverse, with content that caters to a wide range of cultures and interests available to stream and buy around the world.
  • Easy to Access: The platform is easy to access. Anyone can use the platform at any time from anywhere. Prime Video allows its customers to view shows or movies from anywhere using the web or the Prime Video app, which is accessible on a range of devices. 
  • Affordable Services: The good thing about Amazon Prime is that the individual doesn’t have to buy a separate membership unlike other OTT platforms. The prime membership now includes ad-free music, unlimited free shipping on qualifying purchases, and special access to specials.
  • Fantastic Entertainment Platform: Amazon prime video is one of the best OTT platforms which provide a lot of options to the prime members. It is considered one of the best entertainment media. Prime Video is an excellent source of entertainment. Exclusive Amazon originals, regional films, blockbuster Bollywood & Hollywood films, and much more are available to prime members. A big asset of the brand is its ability to provide a fantastic entertainment platform.
  • Continuous Video Playback: Amazon Prime Video has an adaptive video streaming platform. It makes sure that the best quality of the video should be played automatically concerning the availability of bandwidth present in that area at that time. And also the viewers can choose the video quality that best suits them.
  • Smart Search: The best thing about Amazon Prime Video is that it gives accurate search results with rapid auto-complete suggestions.


Weaknesses of Amazon Prime Video

  • Lack Original Content: Amazon prime video lacks original content like its other competitors i.e Netflix. 
  • Messy Interface: Amazon prime video’s main interface is messy. In comparison to the other major streaming service brands, it is also less user friendly. The brand’s user experience, simplicity, and visual storytelling aspects are all lacking.
  • Platform Issue: Amazon prime video faces UI issues. Prime Video has a number of UI difficulties, including the inability to access the now watching section on various platforms, slow content search, and difficulty finding material.
  • Organised Platform: Amazon prime video is not properly organised. The contents are mixed. There is a mix between paid and unpaid contents.
  • Not so Good Presence: Amazon prime video has somehow lacked in capturing the market. Its competitor Netflix has a user base of more than 222 million whereas Amazon Prime video is still at a user base of 175 million. Also, the vast majority of content to watch is available on Netflix rather than Prime Video.


Opportunities for Amazon Prime Video

  • Acquisitions: One of the best opportunities for the company is to take all rights and reservations of other mass media companies like Marvel, Fox Star Studios. Acquiring a big media company leads to the growth of the company. Other than that it can also collaborate with top companies for its universal growth.
  • Lower the Price of Subscription: As youths in all parts of the country are very interested in sports and originals, youth mostly prefer sites where they can get all these at a lower price. Also, household women prefer to watch a lot of sitcoms and daily soaps so reducing prices can engage a lot more customers.
  • Educational Platform: As nowadays every student prefers digital education over offline classes, the company can also release some educational movies so that everyone and especially children can learn various skills by staying at their residence just like students at IIDE are learning various digital marketing skills taught by industry experts through online videos and live sessions.
  • 5G Opportunity: Enabling 5G technology will be a better opportunity for Amazon Prime Video. Higher throughput is possible thanks to 5G technology. It displays the data speed as well as the bandwidth for each connection. Prime Video has the potential to provide higher-quality streaming and cellular usage to fulfil the needs of busy consumers.
  • Increase Subscribers: Prime Video should grow its membership base so that it can serve more people. While the current trend is online streaming and cutting back on cable, Prime Video sees a huge opportunity to grow its customer base. Prime Video is popular in the United States; it should explore expanding to other countries.
  • Entry Points Provided by Others: Prime Video sees third-party entry points for their platforms, such as devices, smart TVs, and projectors, as a huge opportunity. Many smart TVs now include Amazon Prime Video and streaming devices. It should also branch out into new areas.


Threats to Amazon Prime Video

Following are the threats to amazon prime video.

  • Tough Competitors: Increased number of competitors is a threat for Amazon Prime Video. New streaming services have entered the market, posing a challenge to Prime Video and increasing its competitors. Some of its competitors are Zee5, Sony Liv, Hotstar, Netflix, etc.
  • Legal Regulations: The technology sector is subject to a slew of rules and legal challenges, putting Prime Video’s image at risk. Few countries have blocked its service, which will affect its subscribers and growth potential. Amazon prime video faces many rules and legal regulations.
  • Free Streaming: Prime Video also sees piracy as a significant threat to free streaming services. This would also have the effect of reducing the number of subscribers.
  • Addiction: Teenagers nowadays are technology-friendly and by which they are not concentrating enough on their studies rather than more addicted to OTT platforms. This has led to a bad brand image of OTT platforms in parents’ eyes. 
  • Competitor’s Price Fluctuation: Recently, Netflix has reduced its subscription prices which makes viewers purchase subscriptions of Netflix rather than of Amazon Prime Video.
  • Unlock: When the lockdown was implemented people were used to watching movies on OTT platforms and several big production houses also launched Bollywood movies on the OTT platform. But after unlocking, the situation is getting back to what it was before lockdown. This shift of change is affecting the revenue of Amazon Prime Video. 


This ends our in-depth SWOT analysis of Amazon Prime Video. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

The SWOT Analysis of Amazon Prime Video mentioned in this blog has brought out the main strength of the company which includes continuous video playback, smart search, content catalogue, extraordinary content and most importantly accessibility.

The weaknesses of the company mainly are niche content and being expensive for some users. The company can increase its market value by collaborating with other mass media companies and most importantly due to more viewers it can also collaborate with top comic production and another major factor in reducing its subscription value.

Amazon Prime Video is putting a lot of investment in online mediums for its services to reach the maximum number of people in this era of digitalization. If you are interested in learning digital marketing, don’t forget to check out IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Digital Marketing Course.

We hope this blog on the SWOT Analysis of Amazon Prime Video has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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