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- By Ashish Singh
- Mon, 02 Sep 2024 02:28 PM (IST)
- Source:Reuters
Apple will gain much-needed momentum in the content market, where it presently lags behind market leaders like Spotify and Walt Disney, with a partnership with the second-largest telecom carrier in India.
The massive American internet company is planning to provide free music and video streaming to a large portion of Bharti Airtel's 281 million users as part of its efforts to increase revenue from services like applications, payments, and media worldwide.
With this contract, Apple is expected to significantly increase the number of users of Apple TV+ and Apple Music in a nation where it has historically placed a strong emphasis on manufacturing in order to diversify its supply chain outside of China.
Since 2019, Apple has provided free access to Apple Music through select Verizon mobile data plans in the United States. Additionally, starting in May, Apple TV+ will be included in a Comcast streaming package.
READ: Airtel And Apple Team Up To Bring Apple TV+ And Apple Music Perks, But You'll Have To Wait
In India, Wynk, the music app from Airtel, will soon close, and premium subscribers will have access to Apple Music.
About 7 million postpaid Airtel customers have access to Wynk's ad-free version, but very few of them actually use it, according to a telecom industry insider who wished to remain anonymous because the numbers are private.
Though its collection is less than Spotify's, Apple Music is more suited to the Indian market than the primarily English Apple TV+, with content including Bollywood and regional-language songs, according to Counterpoint co-founder Neil Shah.
An anonymous Indian music industry insider said that there are roughly 3 million paying customers of Spotify in India, 1.4 million on Gaana, 500,000 on Wynk, and 200,000 on Apple Music. The source was not permitted to disclose the numbers to the public.
Outside of regular business hours, neither Spotify nor Gaana responded to calls for comment.
According to figures from the industry association FICCI and consultants EY, out of around 185 million users of ad-supported and ad-free applications in India last year, only roughly 7.5 million consumers paid for audio streaming services.
According to the telecom industry insider, Airtel would pay Apple a per-user cost "significantly" less than the $1.20 per month that Apple TV+ and Apple Music are currently charged in India.
According to a second telecom insider, in exchange for shutting down Wynk and using Apple Music to increase income and foster client loyalty, it will save millions of rupees in license fees.
"Airtel realised its strength is distribution, not content creation," the unnamed insider stated, citing their lack of authorisation to speak about the subject.
With less than a million consumers, according to Counterpoint, Apple is a minor participant in the Indian video streaming market.
With 38 million subscribers, Disney+ Hotstar leads the industry; estimates put Netflix's user base at about 10 million.
Netflix has stated repeatedly that it aims to reach 100 million customers, without providing a specific time range, suggesting the market's potential.
Apple TV+ is well-known for its original shows, like "The Morning Show" and "Slow Horses," but competitors like Netflix and Disney provide more Hindi material, including films in regional languages and performers from Bollywood.
The most popular sport in India, cricket, is also streamed by Disney and Reliance Industries' JioCinema. The two businesses are combining their Indian media holdings to form the largest entertainment company in the country.
According to the second telecoms source, Airtel, which is just behind Reliance Jio in terms of subscribers, intends to provide bundles that include several months of free access to Apple TV+.
While this may increase the number of houses that have Apple TV+, growth may be impeded because the service's "offering is still not optimised locally that much," according to Shah of Counterpoint.
