Bharti Airtel on Monday launched its convergence platform Airtel Xstream as it looks to provide various kinds of entertainment, including live TV and online content. The company has launched two android-based products, a stick and a 4K (ultra high definition TV) set top box that will allow users to watch content across screens of their choice –TV, personal computer or a smartphone. The devices cost `3,999 apiece.
Rival Reliance Jio too has announced its plans to offer converged entertainment starting September 5. However, unlike Airtel, users don’t need to pay anything for Jio’s set top box. The Jio set top box is also 4K and comes bundled with over-the-top (OTT) apps and live TV. Apart from that, Jio is also offering a 4K TV free of cost for a yearly subscription.
Casting devices like Amazon fire TV stick costs `3,999 and 4K fire stick comes for `5,999. Google’s Chromecast costs `3,499. The devices launched by Airtel though comes with in-built Chromecast. The casting devices can be used for OTT streaming on TV, and for watching live TV channels, users will have to subscribe to a cable or DTH provider.
Airtel said India is a unique market in terms of growth of online content and linear TV. Unlike other developed countries where linear TV saw a decline as online content grew, in India both the categories witnessed growth. The video streaming grew by 11% while linear TV rose by 7%. Airtel said this has allowed the company to come out with the converged platform where users can watch all kinds of entertainment without changing remotes and devices.
The company has revamped its Airtel TV app, which is now called Airtel Xstream. The refreshed app continues to have content catalogues with over 400 live TV channels and 10,000 plus movies and shows from top content providers.