JioCinema introduced a new monthly subscription plan on Thursday, with the lowest tier costing just 35 cents. The revamp in the pricing strategy comes as the market-leading service seeks to exert greater pressure on rivals including Netflix and Prime Video.
The service — backed by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani — introduced two monthly tiers: Rs 89 ($ 1), featuring support for four simultaneous screen access, and Rs 29, with single-screen access. Apart from the simultaneous viewing, both tiers offer identical features, including an ad-free experience, the ability to stream in 4K, and download for offline viewing.
JioCinema Premium subscribers will be able to enjoy the ad-free experience across the platform, including on the ongoing popular cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. JioCinema Premium also includes access to everything else on the platform, which includes a vast library of content from Peacock, HBO, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
JioCinema had launched an annual premium tier with the international catalog at 999 Indian rupees last year. Viacom18, the parent firm of JioCinema, is discontinuing the earlier tier, and those who had subscribed to it will be automatically switched over to the new plan, according to the spokesperson.
The service will also continue to offer ad-supported streaming of the cricket tournament at no charge, the spokesperson added.
The revamp in the pricing follows Ambani’s Reliance — which owns the majority of Viacom18 — merging its media business with the local business of Disney earlier this year. The joint venture, whose value has been pegged at $ 8.5 billion, stands to capture 85% of India’s on-demand streaming service audience and about half of the TV viewers, analysts said.
“The introduction of JioCinema Premium breaks the numerous cost and quality barriers that exist in accessing premium entertainment,” said Kiran Mani, CEO of Viacom18 Digital, in a statement. “With 4K streaming, best-in-class audio, offline viewing and no device restriction all at a customer-centric pricing is sure to democratise access to quality entertainment for all of India.”
This is a developing story. More to follow.
