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With Netflix making inroads in the Indian market, Reliance Entertainment is set to relaunch its rival movie streaming service, Bigflix. The relaunch, expected to happen as early as next week, will see Reliance Entertainment improving its movie library and offer better streaming quality.
“The biggest problem today is that about 95 per cent of content is pirated. We are looking at ways to make content consumption so simple that people see value in paying for it,” Amit Khanduja, CEO of Reliance Entertainment - Digital told BusinessLine .
Content consolidation Khanduja said with everyone trying to create their own content (referring to Netflix, HBO, Eros, etc), consolidation of content is required. “We are building a versatile platform that’ll cater to not just India but a global market,” he added.
With internet speeds soaring and 4G expected to further improve bandwidth rates in the country, several video streaming players have entered the fray over the past year.
While US-based Netflix launched its service priced at ₹500 a month in January, other global players such as Hooq and Spuul have also entered India at lower price points.
Similarly, several content players such as Eros and Sony have also launched their own video streaming platforms, which offer basic viewing for free and a lot of local content.
Netflix also has its own original content such as House of Cards and Daredevil .
This has prevented HBO from licensing its content, including the popular series Game of Thrones , to Netflix, as HBO sees Netflix as a competitor rather than a distribution channel. Khanduja said Bigflix will not look at bringing out original content at the moment. “Netflix has started competing with its partners. We would not do that,” he said.
Internet video traffic was 46 per cent of all consumer internet traffic in 2014, up from 38 per cent in 2013, making video an obvious choice to focus Reliance Entertainment’s revenue opportunities on. By 2019, video is expected to grow to 74 per cent of all internet traffic in India.
Bigflix, which is eight years old, offers limited movie titles, no TV shows and no English language content at the moment. With the relaunch all that is expected to change.
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