Indian streaming platform JioCinema introduced premium pricing of Rs. 999 a 12 months, its first step to maneuver away from a free content material mannequin to battle international rivals similar to Netflix and Disney within the nation.
The transfer comes weeks after a Reliance’s Viacom18 struck a content material take care of Warner Bros., that can make out there widespread HBO and Warner titles similar to Succession and people that includes the character Harry Potter on the JioCinema platform.
The JioCinema web site on Saturday confirmed the brand new premium pricing for Hollywood content material, with the much-awaited Succession collection out there for streaming.
A number of of HBO’s top-rated reveals, together with Succession, had aired in India on the Disney Hotstar platform till March 31 as a part of a deal between the 2 corporations that ended on that date.
JioCinema has turn out to be widespread for displaying the IPL cricket match on the platform totally free within the ongoing season. The brand new pricing, in keeping with the web site, is just for premium content material, whereas the matches proceed to stream totally free.
Viacom18 gained the IPL digital streaming rights from 2023 to 2027 for round $2.9 billion (almost Rs. 23,850 crore), rights which Disney beforehand held.
Karan Taurani, a senior vp of India’s Elara Capital specialising within the media and leisure sectors, mentioned Reliance’s streaming provide value was on the decrease finish versus rivals that however extra content material could be wanted to succeed.
“Solely with pure play HBO content material you might not get a big scale (of consumers) … Rs. 999 undoubtedly is on the decrease finish of the band, lots of the different platforms, they’re all within the vary of Rs. 1,000 plus and it goes as much as Rs. 2,000,” he mentioned.
JioCinema is in talks with numerous manufacturing studios and has plans to introduce dozens of TV reveals and films on the platform within the coming months, in Hindi and different languages, Reuters reported final month.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
