indian streaming platform Jio Cinema Announced premium pricing of Rs. 999 per year, the first step in moving away from a free content model in the country to battle global rivals such as Netflix and Disney.
This step comes a week later RelianceViacom18 inks a content deal warner brothers., which will provide popular HBO and Warner titles like succession and those who characterize the character harry potter on the JioCinema platform.
JioCinema website on Saturday showcased new premium pricing for Hollywood content with the much-awaited Succession series available for streaming.
Many of HBO’s top rated shows aired in India, including Succession disney hotstar platform until March 31 as part of a deal between the two companies that expired on that date.
JioCinema has become popular for showing IPL Cricket tournaments on the platform for free in the ongoing season. According to the website, the new pricing is only for premium content, while matches will continue to be streamed for free.
Viacom18 acquired the IPL digital streaming rights from 2023 to 2027 for around $2.9 billion (roughly Rs. 23,850 crores), which were previously held by Disney.
Karan Taurani, a senior vice president at India’s Elara Capital specializing in the media and entertainment sectors, said Reliance’s streaming offer was priced on the low end versus rivals, but would need more content to be successful.
“With only pure drama HBO content you can’t get mass (of subscribers)… Rs 999 is definitely at the low end of the band, many other platforms, they are all in Rs 1,000 range plus and it 2,000,” he said.
JioCinema is in talks with various production studios and plans to introduce dozens of TV shows and movies in Hindi and other languages on the platform in the coming months, Reuters reported last month.
© Thomson Reuters 2023