New Delhi: Apple has entered into a partnership with India’s second-largest telecom company, which will provide a significant boost to the American tech giant in a market where it lags behind companies like Spotify and Walt Disney.
As part of its global strategy to increase revenue through apps, payments, and media services, Apple will offer free music and video streaming to the 281 million subscribers of Bharti Airtel.
This deal is expected to substantially increase the number of Apple TV+ and Apple Music users in India, where Apple has long emphasized expanding its manufacturing operations outside of China to diversify its supply chain.
According to Counterpoint Research, while Apple manufactures several iPhones in India, its mobile phones account for only 6% of India’s 690 million smartphones, up from approximately 2% in 2019.
Nitish Kripalani, former head of Amazon Prime Video in India, commented, “This move demonstrates Apple’s ambitious plans for India. This strategy is a proven method to increase presence in markets that Apple considers important.”
In the United States, Apple has been offering Apple Music for free through some Verizon mobile data plans since 2019, and Apple TV+ will be included in the Comcast streaming bundle from May.
A telecom industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that postpaid Airtel contracts provide access to an ad-free version of Wink to approximately 7 million users, but only a small portion of them utilize it.
Neither Apple nor Airtel responded to requests for comment outside of business hours. Similarly, Spotify and Gaana did not respond to requests for comment during business hours.
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