The Verge is an ambitious multimedia effort founded

Amazon, which already charges some of the world’s lowest fees for Prime Video in India, is going a step further to win more users in the world’s second largest internet market. The e-commerce giant on Saturday launched miniTV, an ad-supported video streaming service that is available within the Amazon shopping app and is “completely free.” miniTV is currently available only in India, Amazon said.

miniTV features web-series, comedy shows, and content around tech news, food, beauty, fashion “to begin with,” Amazon said. Some of the titles currently available have been produced by leading studios such as TVF and Pocket Aces — two of the largest web studios in India — and comedians such as Ashish Chanchlani, Amit Bhadana, Round2Hell, Harsh Beniwal, Shruti Arjun Anand, Elvish Yadav, Prajakta Koli, Swagger Sharma, Aakash Gupta and Nishant Tanwar.

“Viewers will be informed on latest products and trends by tech expert Trakin Tech, fashion and beauty experts such as Sejal Kumar, Malvika Sitlani, Jovita George, Prerna Chhabra and ShivShakti. Food lovers can enjoy content from Kabita’s Kitchen, Cook with Nisha, and Gobble. In the coming months, miniTV will add many more new and exclusive videos,” the company added, without sharing its future roadmap plans. (Amazon began integrating reviews and other web clippings — from media houses — on its shopping service in India for more than two years ago.)

miniTV is currently available on Amazon’s Android app, and will arrive on the iOS counterpart and mobile web over the coming months, Amazon said.

Amazon’s move follows a similar step by Walmart’s Flipkart, the company’s marquee rival in India, which rolled out video streaming service within its app in 2019. In recent years, scores of firms in India including Zomato have explored adding a video streaming offering to their own apps.

Amazon has also aggressively pushed to expand its Prime Video offerings in India in recent quarters. The company — which partnered with Indian telecom network Airtel earlier this year to launch a new monthly mobile-only, single-user, standard definition (SD) tier (for $1.22) — has secured rights to stream some cricket matches in the country. Amazon also offers Prime Video as part of its Amazon Prime subscription in India.

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Mark Spenser |

Mark Spenser is a local NY resident and an avid geek. When he's not rediscovering his island state, he enjoys spending time at TechPhlox and review latest tech's world products and news. You can follow him on Twitter @MarkSpenser

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Meet John Smith, a tech-savvy individual with a passion for all things digital. John holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). With 3-5 years of industry experience, he has worked as a software engineer at Tech and DEF Corp, where he was responsible for developing and maintaining various software systems. John specializes in providing insights and solutions for businesses looking to improve their digital presence. When he's not busy coding or troubleshooting, you can find him binge-watching sci-fi shows or playing video games..

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