MUMBAI: Adding to the OTT-telecom deal list is the partnership between global Netflix and Airtel in India. Airtel subscribers of select postpaid and V-Fiber Home Broadband plans will be able to enjoy free streaming of Netflix for three months. After the free subscription period of three months, they will be able to pay for the platform using Airtel postpaid or home broadband bill.
“Partnerships are at the core of Airtel’s DNA and we are delighted to expand our strategic relationship with Netflix. Affordable high speed data services and growing smart devices have created a massive opportunity, perhaps one of the biggest in the world, for the uptake of content – both local and global. We look forward to working closely with Netflix to leverage this huge potential and continue delighting customers with some amazing offerings,” Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal said.
Customers on eligible Airtel plans will be able to avail the opportunity through the Airtel TV app and the My Airtel app. Even customers not on plans eligible for this offer will be able to sign up or upgrade to claim this and pay for Netflix using their Airtel bill. It has also partnered to promote Netflix content through a dedicated row on the Airtel TV app.
“We are delighted to expand our partnership with Airtel and combine the latest technologies and the best of entertainment. Be it Sacred Games, Ghoul or Stranger Things, more and more fans are watching on mobile so we’re bringing together Netflix’s award-winning TV shows and movies with Airtel’s amazing mobile and broadband networks. Airtel customers will enjoy the simplicity of one monthly bill for their Netflix subscription and Airtel postpaid/home broadband bill,” Netflix business development global head Bill Holmes said.
Airtel, which is gradually losing ground to Jio is trying to get back in the race with several content deals. Recently, it struck an exclusive deal with ZEEL under which a select premium content from ZEE5 library will be available for Airtel consumers exclusively. The telco platform has an existing deal with Amazon Prime also. All these deals may bring more users to the network owing to the digital content portfolio. Meanwhile, Netflix is also trying to gain a stronger foothold in the Indian OTT market through new Indian originals and partnerships.
