Airtel has refurbished its video streaming service— Airtel Xstream — to offer 15 different OTT platforms in a single click, according to a press release by the company. The service will be available to Airtel customers exclusively at Rs 149 per month, the release added. The service has been renamed to Airtel Xstream Premium and will aggregate platforms such as SonyLIV, ErosNow, Lionsgate Play, Hoichoi, ManoramaMax, Shemaroo, Ultra, HungamaPlay, EPICon, Docubay, DivoTV, Klikk, Nammaflix, Dollywood, and Shorts TV in its bundle. People will be able to access the service across mobiles, tablets, laptops, and televisions by either downloading the app or logging on to the website. They will not need to maintain multiple subscriptions and will be able to sign in with one ID, the company said. Airtel's move is a sign of broader consolidation that is to hit the OTT space as the telco's plan is likely to spur more companies to explore partnerships and offer bundles. Why did Airtel introduce this plan? The company said that it expected India’s OTT subscription market to grow to $2 billion in 2025 by relying on data provided by Media Partners Asia. “(The growth) will be led by 3X growth in subscriptions to 165 million approximately. A large proportion of these new subscriptions will come from new users from tier 2 and 3. A number of content houses have launched their OTT apps to tap into this opportunity but are facing pricing and distribution challenges,” Airtel said in a statement. The company…
