Fire TV users double content consumption in 2020; cricket, games, music driving growth: Amazon

New Delhi: Internet streaming device Fire TV users in India doubled consumption of entertainment content during their stay at home in 2020 with movies, cricket, online gaming and music gaining traction, Amazon said in a report on Sunday.

Over half of Mirzapur season 2 viewers finished watching the show within 48 hours of its release, Disney+ Hotstar viewership increased 50 per cent during IPL 2020 and Amazon Prime Music streaming grew more than 35 per cent on Fire TV devices, according to the report.

“With people spending more time at home, total hours spent by active customers on Fire TV devices more than doubled in 2020. Moreover, customers spent more than three hours per day on their Fire TV devices through 2020,” the report said.

Amazon said Fire TV sales in metro cities continue to grow, with Delhi-NCR leading the way followed by Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.

The company did not disclose sales numbers in India but said that monthly active users of Fire TV worldwide crossed the 50-million mark worldwide.

“In 2020, customers loved the Fire TV experience for everything from entertainment, originals, fitness, gaming, sports, and much more.

“With Alexa, the voice quickly became the simplest way to find and watch your favorite content,” Amazon Devices India Head Parag Gupta said.

Shakuntala Devi, Gulabo Sitabo, Coolie No. 1 (Bollywood), V (Telugu), Soorarai Pottru and Ponmagal Vandhal (Tamil) were the most-watched movies from Prime Video on Fire TV devices, the report said.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands, which got optical fibre connectivity in August, was among the fastest-growing states and Union territories for music streaming on Fire TV devices. The other states included Chhattisgarh, Manipur and Sikkim.

“Customers loved playing their favorite games on Fire TV devices, as gaming app hours more than doubled during the lockdown. The love for gaming continued even after the lockdown with gaming hours remaining 65 per cent higher than pre-lockdown,” the report said.

Amazon recorded more than 70 per cent increase in customers using the Alexa voice remote to search content in 2020 versus 2019.

“Jaipur topped the charts with most voice searches on Fire TV devices among non-metro cities. Ramayana and Mahabharata together saw close to 3,50,000 content searches during the lockdown,” the report said.

Besides entertainment content, consumers also increased time spent on fitness and cooking apps in 2020 by three times, the report said.