Apple is partnering with India’s Bharti Airtel to offer its music and video streaming services for free to Airtel’s premium customers. This collaboration provides Apple access to thousands of potential consumers in India, the world’s most populous country. While Apple TV+ has a limited presence in India’s $28 billion media and entertainment market, dominated by services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, and Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema, this move aims to increase its market share.
The agreement will see Apple TV+ bundled with Airtel’s premium WiFi and postpaid plans, as announced by Airtel. Although the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, this partnership marks a strategic push by Apple to reach more consumers in India. Currently, Apple TV+ offers mostly English-language content and is known for its original series such as “Ted Lasso,” “The Morning Show,” and “Slow Horses.” In contrast, its competitors often include a mix of older movies and TV shows from other studios alongside their original programming.
The partnership will also impact Airtel’s Wynk music app. Apple Music will become available to existing premium users of Wynk, which is set to be discontinued. Employees of Wynk are being integrated into Airtel, reflecting the company’s strategic shift. Apple’s collaboration with Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator with 281 million subscribers, is a tactical move to leverage Airtel’s extensive user base. Reliance Jio, a major competitor, leads the market with 489 million users.
In the coming days, Airtel is expected to announce new tariff plans that will incorporate the free Apple TV+ offering. Currently, Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month in the U.S. and 99 Indian rupees ($1.18) per month in India. This is in comparison to JioCinema’s cricket-focused content, which is available for free or at rates as low as 29 rupees per month. Netflix offers plans starting at 149 rupees monthly.
Cricket remains a crucial element in attracting subscribers to streaming platforms in India. Disney+ Hotstar, for example, experienced a significant drop in users after losing the streaming rights for the Indian Premier League to Reliance Jio. Apple, which holds a 6% share of India’s 690 million smartphone users, aims to increase its market influence through these collaborations. The majority of the smartphone market in India is controlled by Samsung and Xiaomi, with devices primarily running on Google’s Android operating system. Apple Music, priced at 99 Indian rupees per month, boasts a library of 100 million songs, presenting another avenue for Apple’s growth in India’s competitive digital services market.
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