JioCinema makes SVoD debut with HBO, WB shows

JioCinema has launched its paid subscription service — Jio Cinema Premium. Users will need to shell out Rs 999 annually to watch Hollywood content hosted on the platform.

A single subscription will give users the ability to watch across four devices simultaneously. 

Viacom18, the parent of JioCinema, which is the official streaming partner of the Tata IPL, recently entered into a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to host content from HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros. on its platform.  

The OTT platform has been streaming Indian Premier League for free this year. Acquisition of rights to international shows and a strong original content pipeline is all JioCinema needed to begin its subscription video on demand (SVoD) journey. 

In April, Jio Studios — the film distribution arm of Reliance Industries — announced a content slate of 100 films and web series. 

Speaking at a press roundtable Jyoti Deshpande, President - RIL Media and Content Business said that the company wants to cash in on the IPL to gain eyeballs on JioCinema and these 100 titles can be expected to release on the platform from May. She also hinted at putting the original content behind a paywall.

Commenting on this development, Karan Taurani, senior VP- research analyst, Elara Capital, believes the pricing is at the lower end of premium OTT platforms annual pricing when compared with Hotstar, Amazon, Netflix whose pricing is in the range of INR 1000-2000 for an annul plan.

"However, we don’t see a large scale paid subs base due to this, as Indian audience is value driven and may not pay this much only for price HBO/Warner Bros content. We continue to believe that Jio Cinema will need to invest aggressively on user experience front too, as all other major SVOD platforms are very seamless in their user experience, which is also a factor for customer retention apart from pure content."