JioCinema launched a new monthly subscription plan on Thursday, with the lowest tier costing just 35 cents. The revamp of its pricing strategy comes as the market-leading service seeks to put more pressure on rivals such as Netflix and Prime Video.
The service — backed by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani — introduced two monthly tiers: Rs 89 ($1), with support for four simultaneous screen accesses, and Rs 29, with access to one screen. Aside from simulcasting, both tiers offer identical features such as 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 the popular ongoing 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 huge library of content from Peacock, HBO, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
JioCinema had launched an annual premium tier with international catalog at INR 999 last year. Viacom18, the parent company of JioCinema, is discontinuing the previous tier and those who had subscribed to it will be automatically switched to the new plan, according to the spokesperson.
The service will also continue to offer ad-supported streaming of the cricket tournament free of charge, the spokesperson added.
The pricing overhaul follows Ambani’s Reliance — which owns a majority of Viacom18 — merging its media operations with Disney’s local business earlier this year. The joint venture, which is valued at $8.5 billion, is set to capture 85% of India’s on-demand streaming service audience and about half of TV viewers, analysts said.
“The introduction of JioCinema Premium breaks down the numerous cost and quality barriers that exist in accessing premium entertainment,” Kiran Mani, CEO, Viacom18 Digital, said in a statement. “With 4K streaming, best-in-class audio, offline viewing and no device restrictions, all at a customer-centric pricing is sure to democratize access to quality entertainment for all of India.”
This is a developing story. More to come.
