OTT platform Eros Now today expanded its partnership with telecom operator Airtel to bring the vast Eros Now OTT content library to Airtel Xstream Premium, a new aggregation oriented video streaming service launched by the telco.
The symbiotic partnership allows Eros Now to expand its reach further by tapping into Airtel’s 300+ million customer base across India. Airtel users will get access to Eros Now’s rich content of over 12,000 movies, originals, music, short-form content and more across languages and genres with a simplified search, customized recommendations and single access login on the Airtel Xstream Premium app on mobile and large screens (TV, tablet and PC).
The partnership is in line with Eros Now’s strategy to focus on direct-to-consumer relationships while strengthening and expanding key distribution partnerships. As part of the partnership, Eros Now will also be available across new bundled offerings to customers on Airtel Xstream Android set-top-boxes and Airtel Xstream Fiber.
Growing demand for video content combined with affordable high speed internet and smartphones has accelerated cord cutting globally, including in India. Airtel’s mobile users have the highest monthly data usage and ARPU in India. With video consumption on the rise, the synergies between Eros Now and Airtel are expected to help both brands achieve their customer focused goals.
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“Video on demand has emerged as the key driver of data consumption on telecom networks making content and its delivery channel equally important. Airtel has been a market leader in Video & 4G penetration. This partnership allows for a symbiotic play wherein both entities can analyse the customer data and target subscribers with the content of their preference with an absolute precision. The collaboration also entitles Eros Now to be a part of Airtel’s preferred channel network and further strengthen our leading position in the Hindi-speaking markets,” said Ali Hussein, CEO, Eros Now.
Adarsh Nair, CEO, Airtel Digital, said, “We are witnessing a huge surge in video consumption amongst our customers. And this growth is not limited to big cities but is also coming from smaller cities and towns. This strategic partnership with Eros Now enables us to provide the most sought-after content to consumers in the true heartland of India in their preferred language. It also allows us to enhance our offering and enrich our customer’s digital experience.”
As per a Redseer report, Hindi and other Indian languages dominated the comprehensive streaming growth. In fact, Hindi language content accounted for more than 50 per cent of the overall streaming in April-July 2020. This also indicates that video experience is becoming increasingly important to Indian consumers, hence any operator who provides greater video experience has an edge. As per the latest OpenSignal’s Mobile Network India Report, Airtel won the best Video Experience category nationally for the fifth time in a row.