Apple Inc. (AAPL) has entered into a strategic partnership with India’s Bharti Airtel to offer premium customers free access to its music and video streaming services, including Apple TV+ and Apple Music. This collaboration provides Apple with a significant opportunity to expand its digital services to millions of consumers in the world’s most populous nation, while Airtel seeks to enhance its offerings to its top-tier subscribers.
A Competitive Market
Apple’s presence in India’s $28 billion media and entertainment market has been relatively small, especially when compared to major competitors like Netflix (NFLX), Amazon Prime Video (AMZN), Disney+ Hotstar (DIS), and Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema. Apple TV+, which is known for original content like Ted Lasso and The Morning Show, has focused on high-quality in-house production rather than offering older movies and shows, a strategy that contrasts with many other streaming platforms.
The deal with Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom provider with 281 million subscribers, is a crucial move for Apple to tap into a broader audience. This is especially significant as Reliance Jio, the leading telecom provider with 489 million users, continues to dominate the Indian market with its aggressively priced plans and free streaming content, particularly cricket, which is extremely popular in the region.
What the Partnership Includes
Airtel’s premium WiFi and postpaid plans will now come bundled with Apple TV+ at no additional cost to consumers. Apple Music will also be offered to current premium subscribers of Wynk, Airtel’s own music app, which will soon be shut down. The deal’s financial specifics and cost-sharing details remain undisclosed.
This agreement helps Apple expand its digital services while Airtel gains a competitive edge in the tightening Indian market. Apple’s digital ecosystem will now be within reach of a more extensive consumer base, many of whom may not have previously considered subscribing to Apple’s premium content due to the high costs relative to local streaming services.
Market Competition and Strategic Shifts
The timing of this partnership is particularly noteworthy, as competition in the Indian media space intensifies. Disney and Reliance’s $8.5 billion merger faces scrutiny from antitrust regulators, potentially reshaping the media landscape. Meanwhile, cricket has become a powerful driver of user acquisition for streaming platforms, as demonstrated by Disney’s loss of millions of subscribers after losing the rights to stream the Indian Premier League (IPL) to Ambani’s Reliance.
Apple is positioning itself against lower-cost rivals in India’s price-sensitive market. Currently, Apple TV+ is priced at 99 rupees ($1.18) per month in India, making it more affordable compared to Netflix’s 149 rupees starting plan but still higher than JioCinema’s offerings, which start at 29 rupees and include cricket content for free.
The Road Ahead
As Airtel prepares to announce new tariff plans featuring free access to Apple TV+, Apple aims to reach more customers with its premium content. With only 6% of India’s 690 million smartphone users owning iPhones, Apple has a long way to go to expand its market share, which is currently dominated by Android devices from Samsung and Xiaomi.
The success of this partnership will be watched closely as both companies navigate the ever-evolving Indian media and telecom sectors.