Since almost all of us are probably stuck inside our homes for the next few weeks, content services are having the time of their lives as users look for all sorts of entertainment. If you don’t think Netflix deserves your money, you’ll probably be looking for “free” video streaming services. MX Player and its ad-supported content were previously only available in India since it’s owned by India conglomerate Times Internet. Now they are expanding to several other markets including the U.S., U.K.
The difference between MX Player and the likes of Netflix or Prime Video is that it’s not a subscription service. All the movies in the catalog are available for free. They monetize through ads so expect to be interrupted every once in a while, but that’s probably the only acceptable price to pay for watching movies for free. Karan Bedi, their chief executive, said they will be offering the catalog at no charge to the international markets.
According to Tech Crunch, there are 175 million monthly active users in India and they are hoping to replicate the success in other markets. They are offering “locally relevant titles” in each of the markets they are expanding to, but they will not be producing any original content for now. They are bringing movies and shows that they have licensed from both global and local studios. But they may be changing that model soon, although the COVID-19 pandemic has probably put those plans on hold.
MX Player was previously an app for locally-stored media files on the cheaper Android smartphones. But when they were acquired by Times Internet, they became a video streaming service and eventually they even added live TV channels too, making it a hit in the local market. They’ve recently bundled free music streaming and also in-app casual games but they may not be included in the international market.
MX Player will be available in the U.S, U.K, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Nepal. They’re also planning to add more countries in the Middle East and South Asia.
