Prime Video's Vivek Srivastava Poised to Join JioCinema

NEW DELHI: Vivek Srivastava, formerly leading growth and business operations at Amazon Prime Video in India, is expected to assume the role of Executive Vice-President and Business Head for JioCinema Hindi, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Prior to joining Amazon, Srivastava held important roles at several media companies, including President of Digital and Broadcast at Times Network and Head of Digital and Commercial at Colors, Viacom18. In his new position, he will make a report and submit it to Alok Jain, President of General Entertainment at Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd.

On Thursday, Reliance Industries Ltd stated that JioCinema had exceeded over 15 million paying subscribers, thanks to its new subscription plans launched in April.

JioCinema Premium offers ad-free content in various languages, featuring original series, movies, children’s shows, and TV entertainment across any device, for ₹29 a month. It competes with Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and other domestic players in the Indian OTT and video streaming market.

The platform also provides a family plan for ₹89 a month, enabling users to stream content on up to four devices at once. Additionally, last year JioCinema introduced a ₹999 annual plan that includes ad-free Hollywood content and ad-supported local-language programming and sports.

Media industry experts noted that JioCinema was slow to introduce local-language originals in India. Rivals already offer premium content, and most users have an average of two OTT apps on their phones, making JioCinema's challenge significant. However, with its ₹29 plan, JioCinema's pricing is hard to dispute, and it could potentially boost the overall number of paid OTT subscribers in India.

Viacom18’s media operations are set to merge with Star India Pvt. Ltd through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement. The combined venture is valued at ₹70,350 crore on a post-money basis, with Reliance Industries planning to invest ₹11,500 crore ($1.4 billion) to support its growth.