Advanced Television

India: Netflix, Jio hold partnership talks

April 6, 2018

By Chris Forrester

Reports out of India suggest that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has held talks with India’s fast-growing 4G cellular network operator Reliance Jio.

The reports suggest that Netflix is targeting a potential 100 million subscribers in India, and that Reliance Jio’s existing 160+ million subscribers could fast-track that ambition.

A deal has not been done, but a partnership is said to be under discussion with Netflix handing over access to its library and Reliance Jio paying a royalty fee for access to the content.

Jio already offers access to music, TV shows and some movies. Reliance Jio only fully launched in September 2016 (after a beta trial which started in December 2015) and its growth has been impressive; last year it saw a 336 per cent rise in video usage. It achieved 16 million subscribers in its first month of operation, passing 50 million on Day 83.

As well as offering 4G, the company operates more than 250,000 kms of fibre-optic cable in India.

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