Reliance Jio joins hands with ALTBalaji to improve content offerings
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has now joined hands with over-the-top content provider ALTBalaji, a week after renewing its partnership with Eros International. The move is meant to offer more content on Jio Cinema and Jio TV and counter Bharti Airtel's efforts in content space, amid an intense tariff war. ALTBalaji currently offers 14 original shows in different languages across various genres.
ALTBalaji: Jio's 160 million users will help bolster content distribution
"We believe that our association with the Jio platforms will help us reach their consumers and let them enjoy the content we are proud to present. Our offerings have a very good fit with the Jio Digital Life eco-system," said Nachiket Pantavaidya, CEO of ALTBalaji.
How Airtel is bolstering its content play
Bharti Airtel has been bolstering its content offering to users through a series of partnerships with content providers. Apart from its recent deal with Amazon for its Prime Video service, Airtel already has partnerships with SonyLIV, ErosNow, and HOOQ. To sweeten the deal, Airtel also recently made its Airtel TV service free for all its customers.
But, Reliance Jio has ambitious expansion plans in place
It's widely expected that Jio will invest another $23 billion on capital spending over the next three to four years to expand its services beyond wireless ones. Having already spent $31 billion on creating India's largest 4G mobile network, Jio will enter into fields like digital TV, fiber-to-home etc., and is likely to spend some of the new investment behind its 4G feature phone.
Content is fast emerging as a key differentiator between operators
Content is fast emerging to be one of the key differentiators in the market. While Jio and Airtel are looking to get their high-paying customers hooked to the ever-expanding content on offer, other operators like Vodafone and Idea are also planning to bolster their content offering through partnerships and deals. Content producers, on the other hand, get large distribution networks through such deals.
