Vi (Vodafone Idea) yesterday announced the launch of its Pay Per View (PPV) service model in association with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment which will be a first of a kind offering in India’s Premium Video On Demand (PVOD) market. The new product will allow Vi customers to get access to 380+ movie titles including ‘Tenet’, a 2020 blockbuster Sci-Fi from Christopher Nolan. The movie is available in four languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu.
“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 monetisation in this hugely untapped market. We look forward to working with like-minded partners like Hungama Digital, to grow this segment.”
Avneesh Khosla, CMO, Vi
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.”
Vi users can rent a film title and watch it within a window of 48 hours from the comfort of their home. They can also Chromecast the film and watch it on the large screen. Vi Movies and TV continues to offer its customers content at no extra cost based on their prepaid or postpaid recharges. The PVOD model further offers a new alternative to Vi customers.
The launch notably comes just weeks after Vi Movies and TV introduced access to content based on tiers decided by the prepaid or postpaid recharge Vi customers opt for. Unsurprisingly, Premium English titles from Lionsgate Play are now restricted to Vi Movies and TV VIP pack whereas Premium English titles from Hungama Digital are now restricted to the PVOD model.
Vi Movies and TV PVOD- Rent Movies at Rs 120
Vi calls it the best pricing in the market for Hungama movies at an attractive point of Rs 120 which currently carries select titles including Tenet, Joker, Isn’t it Romantic, Just Mercy, Scoobi, The Impractical Jokers, Just Mercy, Shaft, Deep Blue Sea 3, The Way Back, The Good Liar, Birds of Prey, Motherless Brooklyn, and Doctor Sleep.
Vi Movies and TV PVOD – Rent Movies at Rs 60
The other movies under the PVOD model are priced at Rs 60. These include Shazam, Wonder Woman, Chapter Two, Aquaman, Detective Pikachu, Godzilla King of the Monster, The Kitchen, The Curse of The Weeping Woman, Annabelle Comes Home, Annabelle Creation, Dunkirk, Live By Night, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Lego Movie The Second Part, The Nun, The House, The Mule, Fantastic Beasts The Crime of Grindelwald, Deep Blue Sea 2, The 15:17 to Paris, Game Night, Ready Player One, Rampage, Ocean’s 8, Life of the Party, TAG, The Meg, Crazy Rich Asians, A Star is Born, Small Foot, Collateral Beauty, Fist Fight, Kong Skull Island, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and Going in Style.
Stupid idea. Who would pay to rent movies in 2021? The amount you will utilise to rent one single movie. You will get access to premium OTTs with same movies and thousands of hours worth content for 30 days atleast. This is a step back. This will do nothing but discourage parents to uninstall such movie renting apps as naive children might unknowingly rent these movies.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. The more Vi struggles to stay afloat the deeper they sink. They are just trying to explore as many non telecom revenue streams as possible to augment their earnings. Perhaps just delaying their inevitable fall.