2 months after Reliance Jio and Disney+ Hotstar entered into a strategic partnership launching prepaid plans bundled with Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription, Bharti Airtel yesterday doubled down on its partnership with Disney+ Hotstar launching 4 new prepaid plans bundled with Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription and upgrading the data benefits on Rs 401 Disney+ Hotstar VIP plan by 10 times. In this article, we compare the offerings of both the telecos in view of the new offerings.
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel is now offering 4 prepaid plans along with a ‘First Time Recharge’ plan bundled with a 1-year subscription of Disney+ Hotstar VIP. Airtel is offering different prepaid plans of 28 days, 56 days, and 365 days validity with a 1-year subscription of Disney+ Hotstar VIP.
| Pack Price (Rs) | Telecom benefits | Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription |
| 401 | 30GB data for 28 days | 1 year |
| 448 | Unlimited All Local, STD and Roaming calls, 100 SMS (L+N) per day and 3 GB data per day for 28 days | 1 year |
| 499* | Unlimited All Local, STD and Roaming calls, 100 SMS (L+N) per day and 3 GB data per day for 28 days | 1 year |
| 599 | Unlimited All Local, STD and Roaming calls, 100 SMS (L+N) per day and 2 GB data per day for 56 days | 1 year |
| 2698 | Unlimited All Local, STD and Roaming calls, 100 SMS (L+N) per day and 2 GB data per day for 365 days | 1 year |
The major plus point with Airtel is that the telecom and Disney+ Hotstar VIP benefits are independent of each other allowing customers to move away from Airtel and continue using Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription till the subscription is valid. One could port out, migrate to Airtel Postpaid, or shifts to another prepaid plan during the validity of Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription and still enjoy the benefits.
Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio is offering 6 Hotstar packs, 2 plans with voice whereas the rest 4 plans are data add on packs. Out of the 4 data add on packs, 3 simply offer data benefits whereas 1 plan offers off-net calling and data benefits.
| Pack | Plan Benefits | Disney+ Hotstar VIP 1 Year Subscription | Validity |
| Rs 401 | 90 GB data, unlimited on-net calling, 1000 minutes off-net calling, complimentary subscription to Jio apps, and 100 SMS/day | Yes | 28 Days |
| Rs 2599 | 740 GB data, unlimited on-net calling, 12000 minutes off-net calling, complimentary subscription to Jio apps, and 100 SMS/day | Yes | 365 Days |
| Rs 612 | 72 GB data and 6000 minutes off-net calling | Yes | Existing Plan |
| Rs 1004 | 200 GB data (50 GB/month * 4 cycles) | Yes | 120 Days |
| Rs 1206 | 240 GB data (40 GB/month * 6 cycles) | Yes | 180 Days |
| Rs 1208 | 240 GB data (30 GB/month * 8 cycles) | Yes | 240 Days |
The stark difference between Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel is the catchy terms and conditions. Reliance Jio doesn’t offer the independence to its customers recharging with plans having less than 1 year validity with their Disney+ Hotstar VIP 1 year subscription benefit linked to them carrying out subsequent recharges without gap in validity till 1 year, on any Jio plan to continue receiving benefits under the Offer.
Except for the 365 days prepaid plan, Bharti Airtel’s prepaid plans are the better ones since the benefits are independent and you have the option to change your telecom operator while Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription till its validity. On the annual pack front, Reliance Jio’s prepaid plan is cheaper than Airtel’s although on the calling front you would end up paying up IUC charges for off-net calling.
Jio is always the best.