The Airtel logo is seen displayed on the mobile phone screen.
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Apple‘s ties with India Airtel to offer the telecom company’s premium customers free music and video streaming services, potentially giving the US company access to thousands of consumers in a price-sensitive market.
The move comes amid intense competition in India’s $28 billion entertainment market and a combined $8.5 billion Indian media asset. Dependence and Walt Disney face scrutiny from regulators.
“Apple TV+ will be bundled with Airtel WiFi and premium Postpaid plans,” Airtel said in a statement on Tuesday, although the company did not disclose the value of the deal for the partnership or information on costs.
With mostly English-language content, Apple TV+ is a small player in the Indian market, where its competitors are included Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema.
Apple is following competitors in combining streaming services with telecom plans to grow its audience faster.
Premium users of Airtel’s broadband and postpaid services can access Apple TV+ and Apple Music later this year as part of the plan.
Airtel will close the Wynk music app in this process, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Airtel has about 281 million subscribers to its Indian telecom offering, while its top rival, Ambani’s Reliance Jio, has about 489 million.
