Jio alert makes Airtel, Vodafone and Idea go aggressive on their content plans

Before Reliance Jio gets commercially launched, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular hopping on their content plans.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has plans to offer digital content and before it steps into the market, the three Indian telecom carriers are going aggressive on their respective content plans.

Content is one of the main components to drive traffic.

Bharti Airtel already has many apps for videos and music content. According to brokerage CLSA, Vodafone and Idea Cellular are also launching content offerings.

CLSA stated Vodafone India recently launched Vodafone Play and Idea entered in content with seven applications.

An Idea Cellular spokeswoman told ET the company is working continuously to introduce its own apps and had inked partnerships with various service providers. "The technologies are getting integrated and the rollouts can be expected in FY17," she said told ET.

Meanwhile, Vodafone India has set up a new vertical to generate accessible content for data customers.

A Bharti Airtel spokesman told ET Wynk is a carrier agnostic platform that is available to all mobile operators. "We support development of a vibrant and open content/app ecosystem that acts as a catalyst for mobile data adoption and will accordingly evaluate opportunities and platforms," said the company spokesman in a written response to ET's queries.

Analysts at IDFC expect online video content will be a key data consumption driver, and believe Indian content owners with a goldmine of library content, especially broadcasters, will immensely benefit from this new monetisation stream.

"If wireless data prices turn attractive, on-the-go video consumption will increase, although the TV screen would continue to be the first screen for video consumption at home," the brokerage said.

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