Jio Postpaid Plan Effect: Airtel, Vodafone-Idea Might Join Hands With Leading OTT Players

Theatres have been shut due to the pandemic and moviemakers are tying up with OTT players as entertainment has shifted on these platforms. In fact, all big producers and directors are looking at Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ Hotstar to release their new movies.

Similarly, it seems that telecom operators are taking advantage of this situation as they are also joining hands with these leading OTT players. Recently, Reliance Jio has announced postpaid plans of Rs. 399, where it is offering content from Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime, JioTV, JioCinema, and many more.

Besides, this plan is also offering 75GB data, unlimited calling, and messages for one month. It also provides a 200GB data rollover facility, which also means that telecom players have again started a price war, and this time they are fighting to offer content through these platforms.

"Reliance Jio's new postpaid plans offer more content and come at 20 percent discount," analysts at Jefferies India said in a report. In addition, the report said that the Airtel entry-level plan is available at Rs. 499 and offer similar benefits without access to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, whereas Vodafone-Idea's first postpaid plan of Rs. 399 offers only 40GB data without any OTT app access.

Additional Investment Requires To Meet Reliance Jio OTT Offerings

Meanwhile, ICICI Securities has said that incumbents are likely to lose postpaid customers as they are not offering such freebies. "We see the offering having the potential to drive at least some churn from incumbents unless they match the OTT offers," ICICI Securities said in its report. The report said that "Matching of the offering, on the other hand, could result in additional annual costs to Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VIL)."

The report highlights that if incumbents want to match Reliance Jio's offer, then they have to shell out close to Rs. 2,500 crore, which is again a huge investment as both are facing financial issues. But still, it is expected that Airtel and Vodafone-Idea might partner with these players to retain their postpaid customers.