Starz announced that they launched an independent, direct-to-consumer OTT app called Lionsgate Play in India. The new service, which brings premium content in multiple Indian languages is available at two subscription models—INR 699 for a year and INR 99.
“India has always been a key market for us. The large and diverse population, increased data usage in urban and rural markets, and adoption of OTT across all demographics created an exciting opportunity for us to launch Lionsgate Play. We’re confident that our unique, exclusive and exceptionally curated content will generate a great response from Indian audiences,” stated Jeffrey A. Hirsch, president and CEO, Starz.
Lionsgate Play is the second international OTT offering from Starz. The company also has Starzplay under its belt, which is available in North America and across Europe and Latin America. In August, the streamer added four series from Spain and Mexico to their roster—“Señorita Mexico,” “Nacho Vidal, an Industry XXXL,” “Express” and “Toda la Sangre.”
When it launches in India, Lionsgate Play will offer the Anna Kendrick helmed, Love Life, No Man’s Land and The Goes Wrong Show. The service will also house Hustlers, Angel Has Fallen, Hellboy, and The Gentlemen, in the coming months.
The app will be available across a wide array of devices including Google Play store, Apple app store and Amazon Fire Stick.
The Indian viewing market proven to be lucrative for streaming services. In June 2019, Netflix launched a mobile-only plan in India for INR 199/month ($2.88). The new plan worked only on a single mobile device and streamed in 480p. While it was more competitive than their previous plans that started at INR 499/month ($7.23) — it still was more expensive than both Amazon Prime Video ($15 a year / $2 a month) or Hotstar ($14.50 a year).
Earlier this year, news came out that Netflix was testing a new, low-cost subscription tier. The Mobile+ plan, geared to both new and current subscribers, delivers HD streaming quality cross-platform — mobile, tablet and computer — but not on TV. The monthly price is 349 Indian rupees ($4.70).
In April, Disney+ announced they had surpassed 50 million paid subscribers globally, following their launch in India and eight Western European countries. Of the 50 million subscribers in April, approximately 42 million of those were outside of India.