JioCinema has launched reasonably priced ad-free subscription plans in India. These plans eliminate ads from the streaming service and introduce additional features.
Prices, Features of New JioCinema Plans
The new JioCinema premium plan, which costs Rs 29 a month, will allow users to watch content ad-free, except for live shows and sports where the ads are integrated into the broadcast itself. In addition, users will be able to access all the premium content such as Hollywood movies and shows. Then, they’ll be able to up to 4K quality content on a single device and can also download and watch content of their choice at any given time.
The next plan, costing Rs 89 a month, is the family plan. This plan offers all the benefits of the premium plan mentioned above, alongside the ability to watch 4K content on up to 4 devices. The only difference between the two plans is that the family plan offers more devices.
Premium members will have exclusive access to international content dubbed in local languages, before-TV premieres, 20+ live TV channels from Viacom18, original series, and parental control features, ensuring a safe viewing environment for all family members. Sports content, including the ongoing Indian Premier League and a vast library of entertainment content, will remain free as part of JioCinema’s ad-supported model.
Read More: JioCinema Introduces Ad-Free Subscription Plan: How To Subscribe?
Technical Glitch On Jio Website
A Jio spokesperson has confirmed to The Mobile Indian that the pricing of the new plans is a part of an introductory offer, and there’s no information for how long it will run. There’s also a technical glitch on the website due to which it shows that the introductory offer will last only a month post, which will cost Rs 59 or Rs 149 a month.
“The pricing after the introductory offer ends is yet to be decided. It may increase or decrease,” added the spokesperson.
Difference Over Previous JioCinema Premium Plan
Previously, JioCinema offered two subscription plans, one for the web and one for the app. The plan on the website was available for Rs 99 a month while the mobile App plan was for Rs 999 for a year. However, now, the two new plans remain the same across the website and the mobile app. Additionally, the price of the monthly basic plan has been reduced by Rs 70 (from Rs 99 to Rs 29). Still, the benefits have been added, except for one where the number of devices you can watch JioCinema on simultaneously has reduced.
Both the older JioCinema subscription plans offered the ability to watch content on any device up to 4 devices simultaneously, the highest possible video and audio quality, and the Hollywood content as well. Basically, the same benefits that the Rs 89 Family plan is now offering.
The Rs 29 plan is the newer one, which has reduced the number of devices you can use to watch JioCinema to just 1. The main feature addition in the newer JioCinema plans is the ability to watch content without any ads, which wasn’t the case before.
What’s the competition doing in the space?
JioCinema’s formation of a strategic joint venture with Viacom 18 Media Private Limited and The Walt Disney Company have allowed it to acquire rights to stream Voot content and, possibly soon, Disney+ Hotstar content. The joint venture has intensified the competition in the video streaming space, and the introduction of the new plan, which nearly costs just Rs 1/day, has further put pressure on other streaming services. The selection of content and each person’s preferences are subjective, but what we are talking about here is the number of features on offer, which is the same across services but with a huge price difference.
For instance, Netflix’s cheapest plan costs Rs 149/month and doesn’t offer the full benefits, which the most expensive Rs 649/month plan does. The expensive one offers 4K streaming, the best audio and video quality, and up to 4 screen simultaneous streaming, all of which JioCinema already offers for Rs 89/month.
JioCinema’s plans differ little in terms of features except for the number of devices you can access that account on. In Netflix’s case, the discrepancy lies in the video and audio quality, number of devices, and even supported devices.
Prime Video’s cheapest plan costs Rs 299 a month and goes up to Rs 1,499 for the Amazon Prime Yearly Plan. However, it does have a decent amount of benefits, considering you shop a lot from Amazon as well. Aside from the price difference, Amazon doesn’t offer any other differences in terms of features across all the plans for Prime Video. However, it still isn’t as cheap as subscription plans from JioCinema.
Disney+ Hotstar is the closest to JioCinema in terms of offering a cheap plan, where it provides a Rs 149 plan for a quarter that converts to about Rs 49 a month. However, the benefits offered aren’t even close, with 720p video quality, stereo audio quality, and support for only 1 device. The most premium Disney+ Hotstar plan, which offers the same level of features as JioCinema, costs either Rs 299 a month, Rs 499 for 3 months or Rs 1,499 a year, all three of which are much more expensive.
Services like SonyLIV do not even offer Dolby audio quality or 4K streaming, but cost Rs 599 yearly for the mobile-only plan and go up to Rs 999/year for the most premium plan. If we divide Rs 999 by 12, the plan would cost Rs 83 a month, which is lower than that of JioCinema, but the benefits on offer are much lower than JioCinema, which drops the overall value. Moreover, whatever plan you have, you can only watch on a maximum of 2 devices simultaneously and stay logged in on up to 5 devices.
As you can notice, JioCinema is currently offering one of the cheapest subscription plans for its streaming service, and there is ample content available to stream. How it pans out in the future once the introductory offer ends is a different story, but until then, JioCinema should offer you the most value if it has the content you want to watch.
