Apple Inc Joins Hands with Bharti Airtel to Expand Presence in India’s Entertainment Market

Apple Inc is likely to offer free access to its music and video streaming services to Bharti Airtel’s premium customers. In the coming days, Airtel will announce new tariff plans including the free Apple TV+ offer. 

“Apple TV+ will come bundled with premium Airtel WiFi and Postpaid plans,” said Airtel in a statement on August 27. 

Additionally, Apple Music will be available for current subscribers of Airtel Wynk. The telecom giant plans to shut its music app and get its employees absorbed by the company, said Airtel. 

Apple TV+ offers most of its content in English-language and currently is not a big player in the Indian media and entertainment market. Moreover, the $28 billion M&E industry has players like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema. Apple’s entry in this segment will be marked with competition from the existing players. 

The announcement has come at a time when the $8.5 billion media merger of Reliance’s JioCinema and Walt Disney+ Hotstar has already intensified the competition. 

The business deal between the iPhone maker and the second largest telecom service provider will help in expansion of Apple’s customer base in India as per a report by Reuters. Bharti Airtel has nearly 281 million subscribers and will offer a huge opportunity for Apple. 

“Apple and Airtel are natural partners who strive to bring excellence to customer experience. We also share the common vision of serving the entertainment needs of Indian users. Airtel offers a one stop shop to bring all content and entertainment through Airtel Xstream,” Amit Tripathi, Chief Marketing Officer & EVP Customer Experience at Bharti Airtel said in Reuters report.