Netflix, Reliance Jio in talks for content production and distribution partnership
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and US-based video streaming service Netflix are looking to strike distribution and content partnership deals that will play out in the next two to three months, said four people familiar with the development.
On the distribution front, the deal is likely to be similar to the one that currently exists between telecom firm Bharti Airtel Ltd and e-commerce platform Amazon India, wherein a one-year subscription of Amazon Prime Video is offered free to Airtel’s postpaid customers who have subscribed to an Infinity plan of ₹499 and above.
While basic Netflix content will be available free to Jio customers, a certain fee will be levied after a point. Netflix already has distribution deals inked with telecom players in other parts of the world, such as the one with French telecom giant Orange that extends across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Besides, the partnership is also supposed to extend to joint production of content. While Jio has so far focused on English and Hindi language content with its stakes in audio and video services like Saavn, Eros Now and ALTBalaji, it will progressively look at regional language content, one of the persons mentioned above said.
Jio and Netflix did not respond to Mint’s queries.
To be sure, the partnership is crucial for both players. First, it will help for Netflix broad-base its presence in India as currently it is costlier than other streaming sites at ₹500 a month, compared to, say, Amazon’s and Hotstar’s ₹999 and ₹1,200 annual plans, respectively.
According to a recent report in The Quint, Netflix has 5 million users in India compared to Amazon Prime Video’s 11 million and Hotstar’s 75 million. Besides pushing its popular global content such as House of Cards, Orange is the New Black , Master of None, Stranger Things, Narcos, and Daredevil, Netflix has announced seven local series, beginning with Sacred Games, featuring Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.
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