Last year, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish had confirmed that the OTT platform Paramount+ will launch in India in 2023 and streaming enthusiasts and industry watchers have since been waiting with bated breath for the impending launch.
Later, after Viacom 18’s Voot Select merger with Jio Cinema, the industry was abuzz with speculations that Paramount+, streaming arm of media conglomerate Paramount Global, will be offered as an add-on subscription with Jio Cinema. Were these speculations true? What’s happening with the Paramount+ launch in India? Here’s the latest update on that.
As per the latest buzz, it looks like Paramount is planning to not move forward with launching the Paramount streaming service in India. Instead, the media and entertainment conglomerate is ostensibly focusing on enhancing its content partnership with and selling more programming to the recently revamped JioCinema streaming service. Although an official confirmation is still awaited in this regard.
And in case Paramount+ content becomes available on the JioCinema OTT platform in the near future, then it would be another win for the streaming giant, which has been aggressively reinventing its content portfolio. Right from streaming the massively popular IPL 2023 cricket tournament for free to acquiring the premium HBO titles like ‘Succession’ and ‘House of the Dragon’, and later Peacock’s global content, etc. And the Paramount-JioCinema partnership might make a further dent on rival OTT platforms operating in India like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, SonyLIV, and Disney+ Hotstar, etc., which are all competing for the biggest Indian OTT pie.
It is pertinent to mention here that Paramount currently holds a stake of 13% in Viacom 18, JioCinema’s parent company. As of now, JioCinema is offering Hollywood content from HBO and Peacock at a premium subscription cost of Rs.999/- per annum. Stay tuned to Binged for the latest updates on the Paramount streaming service launch in India.