More news of comic books on mobile: it is now the turn of  Diamond Comics to tie up with Rediff to bring its titles – Chacha Chaudhary, Panchatantra, Tenalirama, Akbar Birbal, Ramayan & Mahabharat – to mobile phones.

This is the third such offering we have witnessed in the past month -  Airtel, Shortformats and ROK Entertainment Group launched comics by ACK Media and Raj Comics. Tata Docomo also partnered with ACK Media, Liquid Comics and Walt Disney Animation Studios for comics content but their ‘Comix On The Go’ application has not yet been launched.

It will be interesting to see if this revival of mobile comics works. Yes, we say revival because as far back as 2005, there was a tie up between Coruscant Tec and Uncle Pai (the man behind Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle) comics to launch mobile comics on Tata Indicom and RCOM networks. The service was not very popular back then, so why would mobile comics hit the jackpot now? Are these launches then just an attempt at enticing users to access the Mobile Internet or test their receptivity for different types of content?

With ARPUs spiralling downwards, telecom operators are looking to add more revenue streams by offering different types of content – either in the form of games, mobile TV or comics.

Pricing

In contrast to Airtel charging  Rs. 10 per week for 10 comics, Rediff and Diamond Comics have taken a daily pricing route. The user is charged Rs. 10 by her operator for a 24 hour session, and is offered unlimited access to all the comics from the library. Tata Docomo is attempting a subscription-based model.

There is also an option to send a comic to a friend – it is not known if the receiver has to also pay to read it.

Related

–Airtel Brings Comics To Mobile Via ShortFormats & ROK Comics; Pricing?
–Tata Docomo To Launch Mobile Comics, Manga
–Diamond Comics Ties Up With License India; ACK-Vodafone
–Virgin Comics Reincarnated As Liquid Comics; Thoughts On Cross-Media Content