JioCinema likely to start charging users for content after IPL

JioCinema made a lot of headlines when IPL 2023 viewership on the platform broke all records this year. The ongoing IPL 2023 can be live-streamed at the OTT platform, which is available free of cost for its users. However, this might soon change as Jio plans to compete against Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar, and other OTT platforms. The Reliance-backed company might soon charge viewers for its content and will also reportedly add over 100 new movies and web series to its platform.

JioCinema’s plans after IPL 2023
The last IPL match of the year will be played on May 28, 2023. Post this, JioCinema will reportedly start charging viewers for its content. The company’s media and content business President, Jyoti Deshpande, said in an interview with Bloomberg that Jio Cinema is planning to add over 100 films and TV series to its platform. The move comes as the company seeks to expand its offerings beyond cricket broadcasts and challenge major players in the thriving Indian market.

As part of this expansion, JioCinema will start charging for its content. However, the exact pricing structure is yet to be finalised, Deshpande revealed. This move is expected to boost the company’s revenue and further establish its position in the competitive Indian streaming industry.

That’s not all, she also revealed that the new content will be made available before IPL 2023 ends on May 28. However, the viewers will still get to enjoy the matches for free.

Talking about how Jio wants to stay as ‘Indian as possible’, Deshpande also said that the current OTT space is dominated by ‘westernised content’. However, Jio seeks to bridge this gap and wants to become ‘a catalyst for cross pollination of talent’. The plan is to keep ‘tarrifs simple for viewers’, she added.

Jio’s cricket plans
On a related note, Jio launched cricket plans with 3GB of data per day as well as additional data add-on packs and special vouchers as the IPL 2023 started streaming. The new Cricket Add-On packs offered by Jio were announced to benefit users who wanted to continue live-streaming IPL 2023 matches without worrying about running out of data. These add-on packs provide additional data on top of the base plan, allowing users to boost the total data availability associated with their plans. To cater to the viewers’ needs, Jio released 3 Cricket add-on packs priced at Rs 222, Rs 444 and Rs 667. IndiaToday