Apple’s collaboration with telecom giant Bharti Airtel is poised to provide a much-needed boost for the iPhone maker in India’s content market, where it currently lags behind competitors like Spotify and Walt Disney.
This partnership will allow Apple to offer free music and video streaming to a significant portion of Bharti Airtel’s 281 million customers. The deal is expected to substantially increase the user base for Apple TV+ and Apple Music in India, a market where Apple has traditionally focused on manufacturing to diversify its supply chain beyond China.
“This move highlights Apple’s ambitions for India,” said Nitesh Kriplani, former head of Amazon Prime Video in India. “It’s a proven strategy to rapidly establish a presence in key markets.”
In India, Apple Music will be made available to premium users of Airtel’s Wynk music app, which is slated to be phased out. Currently, around 7 million postpaid Airtel subscribers have access to an ad-free version of Wynk, although only a small percentage actively use it, according to a source in the telecom industry.
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