Vi launches Premium Video On Demand (PVOD) service

Vi has announced the launch of its Pay Per View service model, clubbed with deals from Hungama Digital Media Entertainment. This is a first-of-its-kind offering by a telco in India’s exploding Premium Video On Demand (PVOD) market.

This will enable Vi customers to get access to 380+ movie titles including one of the most talked-about films in 2020 by the master filmmaker Christopher Nolan - “Tenet,” in four languages – Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu.

The PVOD market in India is very premature but promising, as the Indian audience continues to be price conscious and choosy. The PVOD models are changing in the new post-pandemic era as consumers are looking at alternative options of entertainment in the comfort of their homes.

Vi Movies & TV Pay per view model is a natural extension of our entertainment offerings. The current offerings allow users to watch content at no extra cost as per their recharge or post-paid plans. Pay-per-view launch is furthering the agenda to empower users to pay for the content that they want to watch, in a language they want to watch.

Commenting on the partnership, Avneesh Khosla, CMO, Vi said, “Vi continues to drive the agenda to partner with top content providers to delight our customers with new propositions and cost-effective offerings. With the opening of the economy and entertainment business, new content consumption models are emerging that allow users to watch single content for a specific price.

Our innovative and partnership-led content strategy has helped us adopt a telco-first approach for content monetization in this hugely untapped market. We look forward to working with like-minded partners like Hungama Digital, to grow this segment.”

Speaking on the partnership, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “Through our partnerships with international studios, Hungama Play offers its users the opportunity to watch the latest Hollywood blockbusters within a few weeks of their theatrical release, in a pay per view model.

The integration of Hungama Play's transactional service with Vi Movies and TV will allow their users to explore and consume an extensive library of the latest Hollywood titles, giving them access to global entertainment on their phones. We have had a long and fruitful relationship with Vi and are certain that the latest association will expand the scope of on-demand services that can be offered to Vi users.”

The partnership between Vi and Hungama is designed with the objective of bolstering the growth of the digital ecosystem in India and will allow Vi customers to access premium Hollywood movies. Some of the titles which will be showcased and will be available for Vi customers, as a part of this initiative are - Tenet, Joker, Birds of Prey, SCOOB, Aquaman, to name a few.

Tenet will now be available to Vi customers at an attractive price point of INR 120 along with the best of more 2020 movies, while other movies will be available at INR 60.  This is the best pricing in the market for Hungama movies. Users can rent a film title and watch it within a window of 48 hours from the comfort of their home. They also have the option to Chromecast the film and watch it on a large screen.