- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The video-streaming venture of Indian billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani is likely to focus on pricing and local content following an agreement with Warner Bros as it aims to challenge the likes of Disney and Netflix in India, Reuters reported citing industry sources.
As per the content deal unveiled on Thursday (27), popular series from HBO and Warner Bros, such as ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Succession’, will be available on the JioCinema platform from May.
The platform has been promoted by Ambani’s Viacom18 for weeks by offering matches of the popular Indian Premier League cricket tournament for free.
The Reuters report cited an industry source as saying that a pricing strategy for JioCinema is still under talks. However, Ambani, the richest man in Asia, has a knack for disrupting rivals in a price-sensitive market in India with cheap offers.
Seven years ago, he offered mobile data for free and made his Jio telecom service India’s top player. In the case of consumer goods to rival Coca Cola and Nestle, too, he has taken a similar strategy.
According to industry experts and media analysts, the Warner deal will boost Viacom18’s plans that have already been unveiled to “innovate and disrupt” the sector, and help to attract India’s premium English-speaking audience, the Reuters report added.
The video-streaming market in India has a massive potential.
According to the Reuters report that cited a 2021 report by Indian lobby group CII and the Boston Consulting Group, at stake is a slice of a video-streaming market that is likely to grow by 22 to 25 per cent a year to reach $13-$15 billion (£10.3-£11.9 billion) by 2030.
The projected annual growth in the US market, on the other hand, is 8.63 per cent, and it is expected to hit $54.66 billion (£43.6 billion) by 2027, according to Statista.
JioCinema is also in talks with various production studios and has plans to introduce dozens of TV shows and movies on the platform in the days ahead, in Hindi as well as other languages, Reuters said citing a second industry source.
“There are many Indias within India. While IPL is for the masses, partnership with Warner is a precursor to JioCinema’s entry into the premium subscription segment,” Mihir Shah, vice president at Media Partners Asia, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Nitesh Kripalani, former country head of Amazon’s Prime Video in India, remarked that he expects Reliance’s venture to do more such deals, but pricing remains significant.
“India is a value conscious market. For any media business, anywhere in the world – you need to get consumers to pay. Advertising can only pay so much,” he said.
