KOLKATA: India’s fastest growing telecom company Reliance Jio has partnered with leading kids content creator USP Studios thus strengthening its platform’s offering for kids in India. Through this partnership with USP Studios, Jio users will now have access to eight exciting edutainment apps including Kids First, Kids TV India, Junior Squad Kid Songs, Top Nursery Rhymes, Kids Channel India, Bob The Train, Little Treehouse Rhymes, and Farmees Nursery Rhymes.
A specialist in creating engaging content for pre-schoolers, USP Studios has been recognized for making learning fun and screen time a positive and enriching time. USP Studios fun learning apps will be available for Jio users in English and other regional languages for free August 2020 onwards.
USP Studios has a strong footprint in India that continues to grow. The content creator has a global subscriber base of over 130 million and commands over 2.5 billion views per month. An industry leader, USP Studios continue to produce original content and unique animated character IPs that pre-school kids can relate and connect with. Jio’s partnership with USP Studios will further amplify the accessibility and availability of USP Studios content for kids across India and in the language of their choice.
On adding content that caters to pre-schoolers, Jio 's Akash Ambani said, “We are extremely excited on this partnership with USP Studios that has helped us expand our offerings for kids and preschoolers. At Jio, we are focused on expanding our content library to suit the needs of our consumers across all ages. USP Studios is a domain expert and a leader in its category. Through this partnership, we are sure that parents will have a new way to keep their kids engaged and make screen time more meaningful with content that is educative and enriching”
Speaking on expanding presence in the digital ecosystem, USP Studios founder Uday Singh Phoolka said, “Providing kids with content that is differentiated and resourceful is at the heart of what we do at USP Studios. Over the last six years, we have built an edutainment ecosystem consisting of IPs with interesting and engaging characters and channels that have had a lasting and positive impact on toddlers, kids as well as parents. While we have been reaching out to over 130+ million subscribers, we believe it’s time that we further expand this reach to the next 100 million in India and our partnership with Jio will help us achieve this goal. Jio has been a true gamechanger in how India has been accessing content. It has not only reduced costs, but has opened up new avenues in terms of how consumers access content. We are extremely excited on this partnership with Jio and are certain that both kids and parents across India will benefit from this association.”
BENGALURU: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) has been the largest broadband internet services provider in the country – a major portion of its subscriber base is wireless internet – through the mobile phone. However, the player is also making strides in terms of customer acquisition for its wireline broadband internet services. Per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for the month ended 30 June 2020 (Jun-20), Jio climbed up one spot to fourth place in terms of wireline broadband internet subscribers, pushing down its sister company Hathway Cable & Datacom (Hathway) to fifth rank. Overall, wired broadband internet subscriber base grew 2.29 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) to 1.982 crore (198.2 lakh, 19.82 million) in Jun-20 from 1.938 crore (193.8 lakh, 19.38 crore) in May-19. Jio’s wireline subscriber base grew 9.3 percent m-o-m in Jun-19 to 0.106 crore (10.6 lakh, 1.06 million) from 0.097 crore (9.7 lakh, 0.97 million) in May-20.
The public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had the largest wireline internet subscriber base of 0.79 crore (79 lakh, 7.9 million) in Jun-19 as compared to 0.793 crore (79.3 lakh, 7.93 million) in the previous month. Bharati Airtel (Airtel) was ranked second in terms of wireline broadband subscriber base. The telecom major closed June 2020 with 0.247 crore (24.7 lakh, 2.47 million) subscribers, up by around 60,000 as compared to the 0.241 crore (24.1 lakh, 2.41 million) wireline broadband subscribers in May-20.
At third place was Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) with 0.168 crore (16.8 lakh, 1.68 million). Subscribers as compared to 0.164 crore (16.4 lakh, 1.64 million).As mentioned above, Jio was ranked fourth followed by Hathway at fifth rank. Hathway subscriber base grew by 70,000 to 0.097 crore (9.7 lakh, 0.97 million) in Jun-20 from 0.09 crore (9 lakh, 0.9 million) in May-20. Please refer to the figure below:
All Broadband Internet Subscribers
Subscriber base across All Broadband Internet platforms grew 2.11 percent in Jun-20 to 69.823 crore (6,982.3 lakh, 698.23 million) from 68.377 crore (6,837.7 lakh, 683.77 million) at the end of the previous week. Subscriber base growth was led by Mobile devices users to 67.779 crore (6,777.9 lakh, 677.79 million) at the end of Jun-20 from 66.378 crore (6,637.8 lakh, 663.78 million) in May-30. Fixed wireless subscribers (Wi-I, Wi-Max, Point-to-Point Radio and VSAT) grew by 2.23 percent to 0.063 crore (6.3 lakh, 0.63 million) in Jun-20 from 0.061 crore (6.1 lakh, 0.61 million) above. Data for wireline subscribers have been indicated above.
The top five service providers constituted 98.93 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of June-20. These service providers wereJio with 39.831 crore (3,9831 lakh, 398.31 million), Airtel 15.13 crore (1,513 lakh, 151.30 million), Vodafone Idea with 11.645 crore (1,164.5 lakh, 116.45 million), BSNL 2.3 crore (230 lakh, 23 million) and ACT with 0.168 crore (16.8 lakh, 1.68 million).
As on 30th June, 2020, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Jio with 38.725 crore (3,972.5 lakh, 397.25 million), Bharti Airtel with 14.884 crore (1,488.4 lakh, 148.84 million), Vodafone Idea with 11.644 crore (1,164.4 lakh, 116.44 million), BSNL with 1.51 crore (151 lakh, 15.10 million) and MTNL with 0.016 crore (1.6 lakh, 0.16 million).
NEW DELHI: Cricket is the by far the best media vehicle for any brand if it intends to connect with masses at a pan-India level. The game cuts across all socio-economic boundaries, age-groups, geogrpahies and reaches to 196 million households with television sets. The brand can further amplify its reach by connecting with its audiences on the mobile screens. Be it IPL, T-20 leagues, one day matches or ICC World Cups, all of them have been able to deliver great results for the brands.
Currently, we are in the first week of IPL season 13 and going by reports, more than 200 million people tuned into watch the game on day one. The tournament has created history and is already delivering reach for brands. While the bandwagon of the teams, BCCL, and the broadcaster has a large number of traditional players, an equal number of digital first new age brands are also on the roster.
The count of the latter is growing year-on-year. These brands are spending big money around IPL to get more downloads, website visits, referals, impact, and what not. Spokespersons of many of these brands have mentioned that the viewership and reach of IPL is increasing year-on-year and the tournament helps them increase their brand recall and reach. IPL, which is also known as the advertising festival of the Asian subcontinent pushes the brand saliecy to the next level. It is important for these brands to strengthen their community and engage with newer audiences that sample its products or services
Brands across edtech, fintech, food delivery, fantasy sports, financial accounting, and healthcare are advertising across IPL season 13.
Here are some of the campaigns released by the digital first brands that are running during IPL.
Dream11
The fantasy app brand has taken the title sponsorship for the tournament. It has released a campaign #YeApnaGameHai that urges people to download the app, sample the game and continue with it. The brand leads the fantasy sports category with over 90 per cent market share.
Policybazaar
The fintech brand has launched its new television campaign “AapKiSideHai” that features its brand ambassador, Akshay Kumar highlighting the brand's promise of embracing a holistic customer-centric approach while helping to bridge the insurance protection gap in India. The new ad series also highlights the brands unparalleled support to customers, while providing them with the ease of comparing and buying term and health plans online with guidance at each and every step.
Swiggy
The online food discovery brand is urging people to order more during the IPL times and is offering discounts around it. The brand is running a strong media plan and is known for coming up with interesting ads during the IPL.
PhonePe
The Bangalore-based digital payments company is running TVCs featuring Bollywood stars Aamir Khan and Alia Bhatt. It has released five 20-second ads that tied together made one complete story: The guide to PhonePe. The ads tell us the story of Alia Bhatt who’s at the police station for her brother Tyson who’s behind bars because of an ambiguous road mishap. Inspector Desai (Khan) instructs her to pay a fine and she uses the PhonePe app to do so; the conversation from Desai’s instruction to Bhatt’s action is the sum of the five ads.
Khatabook
Khatabook, a business app that helps MSMEs streamline business transactions online has released it ad on the IPL. The ad features M.S Dhoni in different attires from Sharmile Sharmaji to Techno Tawde in the ads and showcasing distinct features of the app.
OkCredit
The brand has partnered with Delhi Capitals and running TVCs with the tagline – ‘Digital India ka Digital Bahi Khata’. It is a free-to-use accounting and ledger app that helps small businesses in India keep track of their digital transactions. The brand aims to engage with small, local brands and entrepreneurs for its expansion.
Byju’s
Byju’s is pushing its new offering – Byju’s Classes – to parents across the country through their IPL campaign spearheaded by its long term brand ambassador Shahrukh Khan. The ad highlights the key features of the product and Khan plays the role of a teacher to a group of parents and discusses the common worries they have regarding their children’s after-school tutoring needs. The campaign aims at redefining the concept of tuitions in an otherwise fragmented after-school tutoring market.
Great Learning
This IPL Great Learning released its first ever multi-film ad campaign featuring brand ambassador, Virat Kohli consisting a series of films titled, ‘Power Ahead – Jo Seekhta Hai Wahi Aage Badhta Hai’. The ad focuses on the importance of lifelong learning, and showcases how upskilling is a necessary step for students and professionals to move ahead in their careers.
MyTeam11
Their IPL campaign “India Ki Apni Fantasy App” aims to promoting the message of “Indian Brand for Indian People”. It aims to bring more people to commuinty and sample the game. The ads emphasize on taking pride in playing one’s favorite fantasy cricket game on a homegrown application which promises to bring the users closer to the experience of the actual matches of the league. The films witness several cricket experts recommending and creating their own teams in the MyTeam11 app.
Jio
Mukesh Ambani owned fiber brand Jio released its latest ad in the Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan series. This time it features Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh with several cricketers such as Virat Kohli, AB De Villers, among others. The Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan tune first arrived on the IPL advertising scene in 2017.
White Hat Jr
The edtech app that teaches coding to children is in vogue. People have been talking about it on the internet and the brand was recently acquired by Byju's for 300 million dollars. The online learning brand is running a TVC campaign across IPL to increase awareness and create brand saliency.
MediBuddy
The digital healthcare platform has launched its first TV campaign – ‘Aapka Health Buddy’ to communicate that MediBuddy is a friend that everyone can trust to address any healthcare need – 24*7, for the entire family. The TVC encapsulates the lives of families and seeks to impart the important message of not neglecting one’s health.
My11Circle
The fantasy sports app endorsed by former Indian cricketer and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is asking people to come on the platform. The campaign is aimed at increasing the size of the community and getting more and more people to sample the product.
Amazon
The online shopping portal has started its festive season campaign with IPL. Their campaign #HarPalFashionable is focused towards pushing people to start their festive shopping from the platform. Over the years, the brands has been clocking massive GMVs during this time. It will be interesting to see how people reach to this years festive season.
Myntra
One of the biggest online fashion brands of India has joined the IPL bandwagon for the first time and partnered with Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Chennai Super Kings.
KOLKATA: Maharashtra Cable Operators’ Foundation (MCOF) has flagged off several unethical practices in the television distribution segment. In a letter written to the Telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI), it has alleged that some multi system operators (MSOs) are violating rules and taking the unethical route of business.
MCOF has expressed concern about Den Networks and Hathway for imposing replacement of existing STBs by STBs under Jio brand in the last six months. The federation has claimed that the two MSOs have not replaced the expired standard interconnection agreement (SIA) with the model interconnection agreement (MIA) without offering any explanation for the rebranding.
“The LCOs who resist the imposition are made to toe the line by disabling their access to the Prepaid Portal resulting in service interruptions ton the subscribers. In addition to the arm-twisting, the MSOs have lined up numerous dummy operators to replace the existing LCOs who usurp their business and assets,” the letter added.
MCOF stated that Jio is not a registered MSO nor has it signed interconnection agreement (ICA) with LCOs. Moreover, Hathway and DEN continued to rely upon expired SIA overlooking repeated requests to adopt MIA.
It has also claimed that BRDS provides signal feed to its network in Kolhapur and connected areas but deploys InCable STBs. InCable has been alleged of providing feed to Sampark Network (Powai Mumbai and Bhiwandi Area) through STBs that the latter has deployed.
“We fail to understand as to how auditors have overlooked the mismatch between CAS, STB inventory and conflicting branding, head-ends can be used as pass-through pipes for signals from another MSO, random off-site checks by broadcasters through watermarking have not detected the malpractices,” it added.
Against this context, MCOF has asked copies of ICA between Jio and Broadcasters and status of MSO License to Den and Hathway. It has also called for clarification on whether a mere share purchase deal allows the buyers to change brands and automatically subrogate the company whose shares it buys.
It has also requested the industry watchdog to share the steps it is taking to prevail on MSO to sign up fresh ICA with LCOs by mutual consensus rather than arm-twisting via Prepaid Portal Access denial. MCOF has also asked directions for the course of actions that LCOs should take to safeguard against likely disabling of STBs that are drawing signals from third party head-end or suspension of feed sharing between MSOs.
KOLKATA: In the past couple of days, there have been speculations floating around a Star India-Jio deal for IPL 2020. The two companies have come to an agreement finally that will allow subscribers of select Jio mobile plans to watch IPL 2020 for free. In addition to that, Jio Fiber users of certain plans will also be able to watch it for free, according to media reports.
The report also added that Jio will be providing free IPL 2020 streaming on its Rs 401 and Rs 2,599 mobile recharge plans. However, the plans mentioned already provide users access to Disney+ Hotstar. Viewers without a subscription to Disney+ Hotstar or free access to the service will be able to stream only five minutes of the IPL 2020 matches.
When the news broke out that IPL might not be available for Jio users to watch this year, experts suggested there might be a huge impact on the digital reach of the tournament. It has always been estimated that a large number of IPL’s digital reach came on the back of Jio deal.
Given the fandom of the greatest cricket showbiz in India, Disney, which owns Star India, planned to launch Disney+ combining with Hotstar during March to exploit the popularity of IPL. Owing to the postponement of the league due to pandemic, it delayed the launch slightly. Hence, it can be assumed that Star India will leave no stone unturned to boost the digital reach of Disney+ Hotstar.
KOLKATA: Over the last few years, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)’s annual general meetings have always bombarded shareholders, investors, users. While Google’s investment in Jio Platform and 5G solution, Jio has also unveiled a new feature for its set-top box users, JioTV+.
JioTV+ is a content aggregator that brings over the top (OTT) platforms, TV channels, various apps, and services together to its Jio set-top-box users. While Jio Fiber and Jio Set Top Box was introduced last year, the company has enhanced the Jio set-top box basis on learning from the beta programme.
“The Jio set-top box was launched with best OTT content across the world. We learnt one of the challenges that users faced was to discover their favourite content from the various applications that we had provided. This has given birth to Jio TV+ where we have aggregated all the content from 12 leading global OTT players,” Akash Ambani stated at RIL's 43rd AGM. It will offer easy access to content from major streaming services like including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Voot, SonyLIV, ZEE5.
Jio TV Plus includes integrated voice search which works on genres, favourite actors, directors, producers and mood.
"We realised all of these 12 apps needed different login ids. To make it simple, we have introduced a single click to play any content without a separate login. Moreover, it requires a user to login a single time instead of logging in on different apps separately," he said
It also offers a majority of Live TV channels along with a host interactive features for users to engage in. The features are also available on various genres like GEC, news channels and music contests. “We believe that interactivity on the TV or two-way communication is the future of consumption," Akash Ambani added.
KOLKATA: Putting an end to the speculations floating around, Jio has welcomed Google as its new strategic partner. At the 43rd annual general meeting of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), CMD Mukesh Ambani made the announcement.
The business tycoon said that Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore for 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms. The giants have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement.
“We are delighted to welcome Google as a strategic investor in Jio Platforms. We have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement under which Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms,” Ambani stated.
Google becomes the latest US tech giant to back Jio Platforms. Facebook started the series of investment by with a Rs 43,573.62 crore deal in April. Intel invested Rs 1,894.50 crore earlier this month.
He also stated that the company has fully kickstarted five accelerators of growth of digital connectivity: mobile broadband, JioFiber, Jio’s enterprise broadband, broadband for SMEs, and Jio’s Narrowband internet-of-things.
Notably, Ambani has announced a significant development on the traditional side of Jio’s business. Jio has designed and developed a complete 5G solution from scratch. It will be ready for trials as soon as 5G spectrum is available and can be ready for field deployment next year.
KOLKATA: Global content leader Lionsgate has formed an alliance with Jio to bring the Lionsgate Play streaming service to JioFiber customers as part of the Studio’s biggest partnership to date for large screens in South Asia, the two companies announced today. The association will give JioFiber customers access to Lionsgate Play’s blockbuster line up of Hollywood film franchises and other hit movies on JioTV+ in the comfort of their homes.
As the media landscape continues to evolve, Indian audiences are consuming more and more premium quality content including Hollywood movies on large TV and desktop screens. The unique partnership between Lionsgate and Jio enables Lionsgate Play to bring to customers a deep and diverse slate of horror, comedy, drama, action, thriller and documentary films as well as movies from other genres.
JioFiber users can access Lionsgate Play content from JioTV+ app on their Jio set-top box. There is no need for separate log-in or downloading of the app. In addition, regional-speaking cinema lovers can enjoy Lionsgate Play’s blockbuster movies, including The Hunger Games franchise, John Wick series, Knives Out, La La Land, The Twilight Saga and many more, in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bhojpuri without any barrier.
Commenting on the partnership, Lionsgate South Asia managing director Rohit Jain said, “We have recently seen a surge in viewership across Indian platforms as more and more people stream premium content. What began as a smart phone-led content revolution is transitioning and expanding to encompass consumer televisions and other large screens in the home. In response, we will continue to invest in technology and distribution with great partners like Jio that give our consumers the option of watching our movies either on large screens or on their smartphones. This alliance with JioFiber is our first major step amongst several such initiatives to come in taking content on large screens within comforts of consumers’ home”
MUMBAI: Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”) and Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio Platforms”), India’s leading digital services platform, today announced an investment of Rs 11,367 crore by The Public Investment Fund (“PIF”). This investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. PIF’s investment will translate into a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 115,693.95 crore from leading global investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG and L Catterton, since April 2020.
With the addition of PIF’s investment, Jio Platforms has established partnerships with a marquee set of global financial investors, who will contribute to establishing the Digital Society vision for India. Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is a next-generation technology company focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers.
Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain. Jio Platforms’ vision is to enable a Digital India for 1.3 billion people and businesses across the country, including small merchants, microbusinesses and farmers, so that all of them can enjoy the fruits of inclusive growth.
PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and as part of its mandate to diversify its economy, has made its largest investment into the Indian economy to-date. This investment is in line with PIF’s strategy and mandate of investing in sectors and companies that generate long-term commercial returns to drive Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation as part of Vision 2030 objectives. This investment supports PIF’s mandate of building strong global investment partnerships to further Saudi Arabia’s investment reach and exposure.
Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said, “We at Reliance have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many decades. From Oil Economy, this relationship is now moving to strengthen India’s New Oil (Data-driven) Economy, as is evident from PIF’s investment into Jio Platforms. I have greatly admired the defining role PIF has played in driving the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Jio Platforms and look forward to their sustained support and guidance as we take ambitious steps to accelerate India’s digital transformation for enriching and empowering the lives of 1.3 billion Indians.”
His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF governor, commented: “We are delighted to be investing in an innovative business which is at the forefront of the transformation of the technology sector in India. We believe that the potential of the Indian digital economy is very exciting and that Jio Platforms provides us with an excellent opportunity to gain access to that growth. This investment will also enable us to generate significant long-term commercial returns for the benefit of Saudi Arabia’s economy and our country’s citizens, in line with our mandate to safeguard and grow the national wealth of the Kingdom.”
The transaction is subject to Indian regulatory and other customary approvals. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB and Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels.
MUMBAI : Amazon today announced its collaboration with Jio, India’s largest and fastest growing digital service company, to provide JioFiber subscribers access to premium content on Amazon Prime Video app on its set-top box. In addition, Jio will offer one year of Prime membership worth Rs 999 a year to JioFiber customers on Gold and above broadband plans, at no extra cost. Through this deal, JioFiber customers can now seamlessly access the Amazon Prime Video app on their TV and enjoy Amazon’s latest and exclusive blockbuster Hollywood, Bollywood and Indian regional movies, top TV shows, stand-up comedies, kids programs, including critically acclaimed Indian and global Amazon Originals.
JioFiber customers, on Gold plans and above, can activate their Annual Amazon Prime Membership by signing in using their Amazon account or create a new Amazon account through their Jio Set-top box and by logging into MyJio app or Jio.com. Customers who are not eligible can simply recharge with JioFiber Gold and above plan to avail the offer. Existing Amazon Prime Members can directly sign-in to the Amazon Prime Video app on their Jio Set-top-box and start watching Prime Video’s wide selection of content including critically acclaimed Indian Amazon Originals like Paatal Lok, Four More Shots Please! The Family Man, Mirzapur and much-loved global Originals like Jack Ryan, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The Boys amongst many others.
“We are delighted to work with Jio to make Amazon Prime membership available to Jio Fiber customers” Amazon Prime Video India director and country general manager Gaurav Gandhi said.
“With the annual Prime membership consumers will have access to the full bouquet of Prime benefits – unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive video content, free and fast shipping, access to exclusive deals, ad-free music on Amazon Music, unlimited reading through Prime Reading and mobile gaming content with Prime Gaming. At Amazon, we constantly strive to offer customers, the best-in-class entertainment. With this launch, we will further extend the reach and access of Amazon Prime Video in India, giving more customers the experience of watching our broad selection of popular Amazon Originals, blockbuster movies, Indian as well as international shows, on their TV sets,” he added.
“Our partnership with Amazon Prime Video opens up a new world of entertainment for JioFiber customers. Jio continues to provide an enriched experience to its customers and this tie-up enable JioFiber users avail one year of Amazon Prime membership at no extra cost,” Jio strategy head Anshuman Thakur said in a statement.
