Airtel unveils 'Xstream Premium', eyes 20 mn paid users for stack of entertainment content

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced a new video streaming service, Airtel Xstream Premium, that brings together content from 15 popular video apps, with a single subscription at an introductory price of Rs 149 a month.

Airtel is eyeing 20 million new users for this paid offering, according to Adarsh Nair, CEO of Airtel Digital.

The Airtel Xstream Premium offers aggregates content from 15 Indian and global video OTTs in one app, the company said in a statement.

Customers will get access to a large catalog of over 10,500 movies and shows as well as live channels from SonyLIV, ErosNow, Lionsgate Play, Hoichoi, ManoramaMax, Shemaroo, Ultra, HungamaPlay, EPICon, Docubay, DivoTV, Klikk, Nammaflix, Dollywood, Shorts TV on Airtel Xstream Premium.

Xstream Premium is a completely revamped version of its previous content offering that was free.

Users can access Airtel Xstream Premium across mobiles, tablets, laptops through the app or web, and on the TV through the Xstream set-top box. For now, it will be available only to Airtel users.

It will offer a single app, single subscription, single sign-in, unified content search, and Artificial Intelligence-driven personalized curation for each user.

''All of this content is available exclusively to Airtel customers at... price of just Rs 149 per month,'' the statement said.

According to Media Partners Asia, by 2025, India's OTT (Over-The-Top) subscription market is expected to grow to USD 2 billion, from the current USD 500 million. A large proportion of new subscriptions are expected to come from users in smaller towns and cities.

''Airtel Xstream Premium is a game-changing innovation to democratize OTT content in India by solving the key challenges of content discovery, affordability, and distribution.

''As a unified digital platform, it's a win-win proposition for customers and OTT players alike as we begin an exciting journey to make digital entertainment mainstream in India,'' Nair said.