iWorld
Reliance Jio continues data pricing onslaught with more offers
MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio has upped the ante yet again. In the ongoing data pricing war, Jio’s latest move is bound to leave its rivals feeling more uneasy than before. The message is loud and clear: India’s wealthiest man is in no mood to relent in his bid to seize control of the country’s telecom market.
Jio’s Rs. 799 prepaid recharge plan now offers 6.5GBs or gigabytes of per day high-speed 4G data for 28 days till June 30, a release from the company stated.
The limited-period offer allows users 1.5GBs of per day additional high-speed 4G data every time they recharge with any daily-recurring data pack.
The Rs 799 prepaid plan provides users with 182GBs of high-speed 4G data for a period of 28 days with a daily cap of 6.5GB data until the end of the month.
Previously, this plan comprised 140GB data for a period of 28 days with a daily limit of 5GB data. Others features in the pack include unlimited local, STD, 100 free daily SMSes and roaming voice calls.
As per Jio’s new schemes, Rs. 149, Rs. 349, Rs. 399 and Rs. 449 prepaid recharge plans include 3GB per day data for the validity period (valid till June 30, 2018).
The Rs. 198, Rs. 398, Rs. 448 and Rs. 498 plans offer 3.5GB per day data for the validity period. Jio’s Rs. 299 plan provides 4.5GB per day data and Rs. 509 recharge pack comes with 5.5GB per day data.
Reliance Jio customers can also avail Rs. 100 discount on all recharges of Rs. 300 and above and 20 per cent off on recharges under Rs. 300 price point on payments done via PhonePe wallet on the MyJio app.
According to Reliance Industries Limited’s annual report, Jio had 186.6 million subscribers at the end of March, up 16.5% from the 160.1 million at the end of last year. The company, however, did not mention how many of these are active subscribers.
In its first year of operations, the company generated a net profit of Rs 723 crore on a turnover of Rs 23,714 crore.
Also Read:
Reliance Jio readies Rs 60,000 cr war chest: Report
Reliance Jio makes a punt on tech start-ups
CCI okays RCom’s asset sale to Reliance Jio
iWorld
Streaming boom crosses 200 million as India shifts to sustainable growth
From content bets to CTV rise, industry leaders map streaming’s next phase
MUMBAI: India’s streaming story has entered a new chapter, and this time it is less about land grab and more about staying power. At a panel on the evolving streaming economy, industry leaders agreed that with subscriptions crossing 200 million and revenues surging, the focus has decisively shifted to sustainable growth, smarter content bets and sharper partnerships.
Moderator EY partner Raghav Anand, set the tone by pointing to the sharp jump in paid subscriptions, driven by a mix of sports, bundling and improved distribution. The result is a fast-maturing ecosystem where subscription revenues are beginning to complement, and in some cases rival, advertising-led growth.
For Amazon Prime Video Svod business India director & head Shilangi Mukherji, the past decade has been about balancing choice with clarity. “It’s not an either-or market anymore,” she noted. “There is space for everything, from television to ad-supported streaming to subscriptions. The real win is when they all grow together.”
At the heart of this growth lies a simple trio: selection, value and convenience. Content remains king, but not in isolation. Platforms are now curating vast libraries that blend originals, rentals, and third-party services, all under one roof. The aim is to create an ecosystem where viewers do not need to hop between apps to find what they want.
Content itself is also evolving. Mukherji highlighted that nearly half of Prime Video’s viewership comes from outside a show’s home region, underlining the collapse of traditional language silos. Stories are no longer “regional” but increasingly pan-Indian, with talent and narratives travelling seamlessly across states.
Franchise-building has become another cornerstone, with a majority of shows designed for multiple seasons. The goal is not just to attract viewers but to keep them coming back, turning series into long-term cultural touchpoints rather than one-off hits.
On the production side, Hungama Digital Media managing director & CEO Neeraj Roy, described an industry that is both resilient and recalibrating. While the pandemic accelerated content consumption and discovery, it also reset market dynamics. Pre-sales have softened, satellite revenues have tightened, and the easy money phase of digital deals has cooled.
“The honeymoon is over,” Roy said candidly. “Now, content has to prove itself. If it works at the box office or with audiences, everything else follows.”
This shift, he argued, is pushing creators towards greater discipline. Fewer projects are being made, but with sharper focus on quality and audience appeal. At the same time, global exposure to diverse content, from Korean dramas to Malayalam cinema, has raised the bar for storytelling across the board.
Another quiet transformation is unfolding in how content is consumed. While mobile remains the primary gateway, especially for payments and discovery, connected TVs are fast becoming the preferred screen for long-form viewing. Mukherji described this not as a battle of devices but as a “force multiplier”, with platforms tailoring plans for mobile-only users, living room viewers and multi-device households alike.
The monetisation playbook is also widening. Beyond subscriptions and ads, platforms are experimenting with rentals, bundled offerings and commerce integrations, building layered revenue streams that cater to different stages of the consumer journey.
Looking ahead, both panellists pointed to global ambition as the next frontier. Mukherji emphasised taking Indian stories to the world through deeper localisation, calling content India’s soft power. Roy, meanwhile, stressed the need for investment in infrastructure, skills and, crucially, transparent data systems to guide creators with better insights.
If the first phase of India’s streaming boom was about scale, the next will be about substance. And as the industry settles into this new rhythm, one thing is clear: the real streaming wars may be over, but the race to win viewers’ time has only just begun.
