NEW DELHI: Amazon launched one of its bestselling products – content streaming media device Fire TV Stick – in India, as it seeks to strengthen its position in the country’s over-the-top (OTT) video streaming space.India is the fifth market where the US-based ecommerce giant launched the Fire TV Stick. The other markets are the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Wednesday’s launch will allow subscribers of its Prime Video OTT service to consume content over TVs.So far, streaming of Prime Video was possible only on a few latest TV sets of Sony, Samsung and LG, and subscribers who didn’t have those had to watch the content on mobile devices and its website. Rival Netflix and Hotstar have been offering streaming of content on smart TVs and via other devices.This move, Amazon believes, will dramatically increase the consumption of OTT content over TV. Priced at Rs 3,999, the device can be plugged into any high definition television and used to stream video and audio content, apps and games. In India, it will compete with Apple TV Google Chromecast and Airtel Digital TV ’s recently launched ‘Internet TV’ hybrid set-top-box.Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to launch a hybrid box with features to offer both satellite channels and OTT and other internet-based services. Marc Whitten, vice-president at Amazon Fire TV, said everyone is looking at providing OTT content over TV. While there are smart TVs and connected devices, he said Fire TV Stick is one of the most superior open-source platforms.“Apart from Amazon Prime Video, we will also offer over 3,000 apps, services and games and it is fully customised for the Indian market. It can work on lower bandwidth and also have features designed specifically for Indian consumers,” he added.The customisation includes voice search in English and Hindi, and data monitoring feature to stream more content using less bandwidth. Apart from Prime Video, Fire TV Stick will also allow users to access content from rivals including Netflix, Hotstar, Voot, Eros Now, Airtel Movies and YouTube. When asked about whether it will affect Prime Video’s viewership, Nitesh Kriplani, country head-India and Amazon Prime Video, said the company is looking at offering the best and latest of the Indian movies, American shows and originals.“Some of the content is not available anywhere else and the kind of experience viewers will have, will be very different,” Kriplani added. Amazon has also tied up with Airtel and YOU Broadband to offer up to 100 GB and 240 GB free data, respectively, for streaming content for a limited period.