You cannot discount the fact that Indians are obsessed with TV shows and movies and what can be better than having a wide range to choose from. When Eros International entered into the video-on-demand industry, little did it know the growth will be tremendous in the first few years itself.
Netflix entered India this year, will an aim to disrupt the VoD space, but the move did not reciprocate well from the consumers, owing to outdated shows and movies, and lesser content as compared to Eros Now, Hulu or Voot.
On the other hand, Eros Now has entered into a strategic partnership with Micromax Informatics to preinstall the smartphones with its app for consumers to enjoy the video-on-demand service. Eros Now boasts of more than 3,000 movies in multiple languages in its catalogue, as of now.
The monthly subscription starts at Rs. 49 and goes upto Rs. 99, which is a lot cheaper compared to Netflix. The service also offers TV shows from Sony TV, Sab TV and HumTV for its audience.
How will this help Eros?
Micromax has been successful in India with its Canvas series and subsidiary, Yu Televentures. Through this deal, Eros will get access to Micromax’s existing as well as new Smartphone user base and also their 1.5 Lakh retail outlets in India, where it can channelize its digital content.
Speaking about the venture, Vikas Jain, Co-founder – Micromax Informatics Limited, said, “We are extremely excited about this partnership, as it promises to make the digital content from cinema, movies and videos available to our urban and rural customers.”
Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO – Eros Digital, further added, “With this partnership we will be expanding our ability to provide entertainment on-the-go, anywhere and anytime to Micromax’s new acquisition of 3.5 million users every month and also their existing base of more than 30 mn connected users.”
Eros Now content also offers curated playlists, music and videos on the go. However, unlike every other partnership, Micromax smartphone users will not get any free one year subscription or subsidized monthly rates for using the app. It sounds like the tie-up was done in a hurry, without giving much thought to infinite opportunities this venture could bring.
Let us see how the partnership works out for both the companies, considering other VoD service providers are getting aggressive with wider range of television shows and movies.
Source: IANS