JioCinema, the streaming platform owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, announced premium pricing of 999 Indian rupees ($12) a year, its first step away from a free content model in order to compete with global rivals such as Netflix and Disney in the country.

The decision comes just weeks after Reliance’s Viacom18 secured a content deal with Warner Bros, which will make iconic HBO and Warner titles like “Succession” and those starring Harry Potter available on the JioCinema platform.

On Saturday, the JioCinema website revealed new premium pricing for Hollywood content, including the much-anticipated Succession series, which is now accessible for streaming.

Several of HBO’s top-rated shows, including Succession, were shown in India on the Disney Hotstar platform until March 31 as part of a contract between the two companies that expired on that date.

During the current season, JioCinema has gained popularity for presenting the IPL cricket event for free on the platform. According to the website, the new cost is just for premium material, while the matches continue to stream for free.

Viacom18 purchased the IPL digital streaming rights from 2023 to 2027 from Disney for around $2.9 billion.

Ambani has a reputation for undercutting competitors in the price-sensitive Indian market with low-cost deals.

According to Karan Taurani, a senior vice president at India’s Elara Capital who specialises in the media and entertainment sectors, Reliance’s streaming offer price is lower than competitors, but more content is required to succeed.

“Only with pure play HBO content you may not get a large scale (of customers) … 999 definitely is at the lower end of the band, many of the other platforms, they are all in the range of 1,000 plus and it goes up to 2,000” rupees, he said.

According to Reuters, JioCinema is in talks with numerous production companies and expects to launch dozens of TV episodes and films on the platform in Hindi and other languages in the coming months.

(Adapted from MoneyControl.com)