Content deal with HBO: JioCinema's big game to retain viewers post IPL?

Viacom18 has signed a multi-year agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros programming to its streaming service JioCinema. The deal, say industry watchers, is the network’s big move towards establishing JioCinema as a formidable force in the world of OTT. With IPL, Jio Studio content and now Warner Bros. Discovery shows available on JioCinema along with all the Viacom18 content, the platform is likely to give tough competition to the other players in the space. 

Jio Cinema, which debuted in 2016, began as a content aggregator app. However, when Viacom18 bid for digital rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and decided to stream it for free on JioCinema last year, it was clear that there are big plans for the streaming platform and IPL is just the beginning. Earlier this month, JioCinema also unveiled its content slate, which includes over 100 stories from various genres of films and original web series. 

Experts say the multi-year agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery is an excellent deal for JioCinema as it will help the OTT platform catch viewers in India who were missing HBO content. This will be crucial for the platform to retain viewers who are currently visiting the app for IPL. 

Diversification is important for any OTT platform in order to keep viewers hooked. According to Sandeep Goyal, Managing Director, Rediffusion, OTT platforms need good-quality content apart from sports to pull in customers. “JioCinema would have faced similar problems post IPL. To overcome such a situation, it's important to get good-quality content which will be more engaging throughout the year. So the tie up should help,” he opines.

Karan Taurani, SVP, Elara Capital, too agrees that the deal is a very big move and will lead to JioCinema becoming the largest OTT platform in India after YouTube. 

“In any OTT platform, the depth of content really matters. With IPL, they were able to garner a large viewership base, and now by getting the content of HBO, which has a big fan following in the country, especially urban audiences, they are really trying to get a large number of subscribers,” says he.

Further, increase in viewers count will also help the platform monetize its content in the future, say experts. JioCinema currently has an advertising-led model, but several reports indicate that the platform will soon come up with a subscription model too. However, there is no official announcement yet.

“They will make a conscious effort to monetize it because you can’t have so much content for free. Indian consumers are not very used to paying for content especially when it comes to digital. Making customers pay up is a difficult task. So unless the content  is very compelling, people will not agree to pay. If it just runs regular content, convincing consumers to opt for subscription becomes more difficult,” explains Goyal. 

“Since they are investing so much money, at some stage the expectation will be to get back that money,” he mentions.

According to Taurani, JioCinema, in terms of revenue and scale, will be the largest AVOD platform, but they have to go SVOD as well. “They have to start charging customers as well because the content is very expensive. They might keep the offering free for their Jio subscribers, whether premium Jio fiber subscriber or Jio postpaid subscribers. I think that is also a strategy that might pan out.”

Kaushik Moitra, partner, Bharucha & Partners, meanwhile believes that the content slate of any streaming platform is a question of their specific business needs or choices, but to assume one will become a stronger participant is premature. “Also, whether behind the paywall or not, the deal of this kind is great. Every platform needs to focus and refocus its content choices from time to time,” remarks Moitra.  

He also states that while monetising content in India is difficult, it is not impossible. "It's an exciting partnership, but it remains to be seen how much actual ARPU growth could come from this deal. In terms of content slate, diversification is a good measure for any platform.”

The deal between JioCinema and Warner Bros. Discovery includes current and future seasons of HBO’s globally acclaimed series such as House of The Dragon, The Last of Us, Succession. Also featured as part of the agreement are highly anticipated HBO Original series including The Idol, White House Plumbers, The Sympathizer and The Regime. Max Original series are also part of the offering.

Furthermore, Future Warner Bros. blockbuster movies and a vast film library including the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and DC Universe movies, as well kids’ animation titles like Dexter's Laboratory and Tom and Jerry Kids will also be available on JioCinema.