Netflix, Disney Face New Threat In India As Country's Richest Person Plots Gigantic Streaming Expansion

Reliance Industries, owned and led by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, recently revived the Campa-Cola brand to take on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. It has now set its eyes on taking on global streaming giants with its subsidiary Jio Cinema.

What Happened: The billionaire’s conglomerate plans to expand its streaming service by adding over 100 movies and TV shows as it seeks to pit Jio Cinema against major international companies like Walt Disney Co‘s DIS Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix Inc NFLX in the rapidly developing Indian market.

The move aims to increase the platform’s popularity, especially with its successful cricket broadcasts. Jyoti Deshpande, Jio Cinema’s media and content business president, told Bloomberg that the platform would introduce new titles before the end of the Indian Premier League next month. 

Jio Cinema will begin to charge for content as it expands, she added. Until then, viewers can still watch cricket matches for free. The exact pricing details are still being discussed.

See Also: Reliance Hunts For Homegrown Partners As Campa Cola Takes On Coca-Cola And Pepsi

Ambani seeks to establish Reliance as a dominant player in the global media and online streaming industry. In 2020, its joint venture with Paramount Global, Viacom18 Media Pvt., won the digital rights to the Indian Premier League, one of the most-watched sports events in the world.

Reliance outbid Disney and Sony Group Corp SONY to acquire the rights to IPL — a critical move for any media company to gain viewership in India.

During the IPL opening weekend this April, JioCinema received over 1.47 billion video views. Last Wednesday, the platform had 22 million viewers for a single match.

Why It Matters: India’s price-conscious market remains hard to crack for global streaming giants. Although Netflix cut its fees to lure viewers, Deshpande said both price and content are also at the forefront of Jio Cinema's expansion.

Last year, Viacom18 Media secured a deal to stream FIFA matches in India and offered free streaming of the FIFA World Cup, which was held in Qatar, on its Jio Cinema app.

According to Statista, India’s streaming market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10.01% in the next four years, resulting in a projected market volume of $5.51 billion by 2027.

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