NBCUniversal and Viacom18 have recently entered into a multi-year partnership with JioCinema, which will soon offer all of NBCUniversal’s content to its Indian audience. The deal, which goes into effect from next month, will allow JioCinema’s Premium SVOD tier subscribers to access Universal’s entire catalogue of movies and TV series through a Peacock-branded hub. The partnership aims to introduce Indian audiences to the Peacock brand and NBCU’s portfolio, while JioCinema strengthens its position as India’s largest OTT service.
Details
JioCinema’s Premium SVOD tier plan, which costs Rs. 999 annually, was launched earlier this month, and subscribers can access select HBO content on the platform. The new Peacock/NBCUniversal hub will include iconic films such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, M3GAN, the Jurassic franchise, the Shrek movies, and more. The announcement also mentions new releases such as Fast X, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Oppenheimer movie, which will come to the streaming platform in the future.
The NBCUniversal portfolio includes content from brands such as Universal Television, UCP, Universal International Studios, Sky Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures, and Focus Features, among others. Comedies from NBCU’s vast library such as The Office, Suits, Downtown Abbey, and Parks and Recreation are also part of the deal. Peacock Original series, including the Bel-Air reimagining, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, and The Calling, the investigative drama from Emmy award-winner David E. Kelley, are also among the offerings.
JioCinema’s Premium catalogue, however, missed a bunch of titles promised during the HBO deal, including Peacemaker and Euphoria. It is recommended to take these content promises with a sceptical attitude until people online give initial impressions, or subscribers see them in the catalogue for themselves.
The partnership between NBCUniversal, Viacom18, and JioCinema leverages the latter’s reach and expertise to introduce Indian audiences to the Peacock brand and NBCU’s portfolio, while JioCinema cements its position as the largest OTT service in the market. The addition of NBCUniversal content to JioCinema is expected to come with a full-blown interface update that makes it easier to navigate the content and personalised settings, such as subtitle size, a resume playback option, and the ability to downvote titles that subscribers aren’t interested in, akin to Netflix.
Currently, there is no concrete date for accessing NBCUniversal content on JioCinema. Pricing for the premium plan is set at Rs. 999 annually, which would also include other Premium content such as HBO’s offerings. As shows such as The Office and Downton Abbey are currently available to stream on Prime Video, it remains unclear whether they will disappear from Amazon’s streaming platform.
NBCUniversal and Viacom18’s partnership with JioCinema aims to offer Indian audiences access to a vast collection of movies and TV series through a Peacock-branded hub, which will be available to JioCinema’s Premium SVOD tier subscribers. The deal also aims to introduce Indian audiences to the Peacock brand and NBCU’s portfolio, while JioCinema strengthens its position as India’s largest OTT service.
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