Indian consumers in recent times have resorted to more OTT platforms over the DTH services and this has led them to pay more to these services when the consumers have to pay individually to the service providers. The mistake that is being done here is the lack of research, as some of these OTT services are now available under the regular prepaid or postpaid mobile recharge packs itself and you would never have to pay for the same individually and would have got it for free already.
Playing the cards right is what is needed for the users to realize that they could get some of the important OTT services like Zee5 and Prime Video for free as a part of the postpaid plan for as low as Rs. 499 per month, which you would have already subscribed to, but never knew that you could take advantage of the benefits that are being offered.
In a private survey taken by software and services provider Amdocs and consultancy firm Ovum, it was said that 44% of Indian respondents said that bundling media services with telecom is one of the reasons why they are happy to pay more to these mobile services and broadband services, as the bundled packages are well worth it rather than individually paying for the OTT platforms. Now, it is also fair to say that several users are choosing the broadband and network billing plans based on what complimentary bundled offerings they come with, as several networks come with their own customized packages based on the partnership they have had with the OTT service providers.
One of the rising OTT platform that has got some very unique content and it is growing and is in demand due to the rise in the viewership of the OTT platforms in recent times is Zee5. It has been a part of the postpaid plans from the different network providers including Airtel and Vodafone, but the plan cost varies a lot, and it makes sense to choose one only when it benefits the user not just with the complimentary services offered, but also with the network stability and service provided along with it. For example, Vodafone has an Rs. 598 plan that has the Amazon Prime Video and Zee 5 subscription included, while the plan is valid for two connections, you could get the subscription to OTT services on only one account. In comparison, there is a plan from Airtel that costs Rs. 499 that has not just Zee5 and Prime, but also the Airtel XStream App support included in it, and it is cheaper too. Jio on the other side is offering only a basic postpaid plan and it doesn’t come bundled with such lucrative offers that the other networks are offering.
A similar case is with the broadband services as well, where every major ISP has their partnerships done with OTTs to offer the same to their broadband customers. The major player here, Airtel Broadband is offering the complimentary subscription to Zee5 Premium and Amazon Prime Video with its Rs. 999 monthly plan where the user can enjoy speeds of up to 200 Mbps. Reliance Jio isn’t far behind as the Rs. 849 plan gives you the Zee5 subscription but it offers speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
While the mobile network plans are something we cannot live without as they help people stay connected with the regular calls, the broadband plans when chosen with the intention of taking advantage of good speeds with the content available through OTT platforms is a better choice for users as content and data go hand in hand.
We’ve seen that users have started choosing better plans to take advantage of the OTT subscriptions, it is always wise to go with something that benefits the users in both ways, and choose the right plan that offers good network speeds to get back a great value for the money being paid in these mobile networks and broadband plans.
