Guwahati: JioCinema, owned by Indian billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani, has launched its premium service at a mere Rs 29 per month, costing less than Re 1 per day. Subscription to JioCinema’s Premium service will allow you to watch all premium content on one device at a time in 4K quality. The ‘family’ plan costing Rs 89 offers Premium benefits on 4 devices.

So what can you watch on JioCinema Premium?

Apart from several high-profile Bollywood releases (‘OMG 2’ is playing at present), Hollywood fare such as ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ are also on offer. Add to that a number of beloved dramas – in Hindi, English, and regional Indian languages – and you have an idea of the vast catalog that JioCinema Premium is offering for a nominal cost.

The pricing of JioCinema Premium is considered significant as rival streaming services are, simply put, charging higher rates. In contrast, rival Netflix’s Premium monthly plan for a 4G experience will set you back by Rs 649 each month. Even Zee5’s Premium service, which mostly Indian content, is priced at Rs 1,199 for a year (Rs 99 for a month)

So how is Ambani’s firm able to bring such a huge quantity of high-profile content under a single banner? Reliance’s merger with the Walt Disney Company’s Indian interests, for a new entity valued at $8.5 billion, might be the answer. In February, it was announced that Reliance’s Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India will merge, with Ambani becoming the major shareholder.

Unquestionably, the ‘Mouse House’ is the biggest entertainment entity in the United States, with vast empires such as LucasFilm, Marvel Entertainment, and Paramount now flying under the Disney banner. When Disney purchased entities from Rupert Murdoch’s Fox in 2019, as part of its aggressive acquisition/takeover strategy, it also inherited the Star business, with numerous holdings in India. 

However, business has since plunged to about one-third of what it was worth when Disney took over. Disney’s Hotstar streaming platform in India launched in 2019, reported a loss of 2.8 million paid subscribers for the fourth quarter last year, offsetting concerns in the company.

During the same period, Reliance Jio has made steady strides in the Indian market. Picking up rights for the highly lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament in 2022 was considered a significant win for Ambani’s firm.

After the merger, Jio has access to 750 million viewers across 120 channels and two streaming platforms, becoming the largest media entity in the world’s most populous nation. And Jio now has access to the vast catalog of Disney, considered the biggest player globally.

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