Mumbai: Sun TV Network that owns OTT platform Sun NXT with widely watched pay channel in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, has inked a content licensing deal with telecom giant Reliance Jio.
The agreement enables Jio’s apps to exploit Sun TV’s content, including those that it has purchased digital rights. With this, Jio Cinema customers will be able to watch thousands of movies while the JioTV app will showcase Sun Network’s live TV channels, including HD versions.
However, The agreement doesn’t enable Jio apps to explore many serials and other TV content from the broadcaster as the same have been kept outside the scope of the agreement due to the fact that Sun TV still operates on sponsorship model with private producers for which the channel doesn’t posses the digital exploitation rights.
For instance, Content creators like Vikatan Group who has been providing top rated fiction shows on Sun TV’s prime time, operates its own YouTube channel to showcase the same for digital audience, that amounts to 10% of Vikatan group’s revenue, according to its MD – B Srinivasan’s disclosure in a recently held knowledge forum in Chennai.
Following the January agreement with Vodafone Idea, for Sun TV Network, this is the second major content licensing agreement signed this year. Besides movies, Sun TV’s agreement with Vodafone Idea covers “a huge repository of TV shows, music videos and short format content”, according to a statement released by the telecom operator in January.
On the other hand Jio also has similar content licensing agreements with other content creators, such as Balaji Telefilms, Zee Entertainment and Eros Now. Where in Eros Now being part of Reliance Group, got its own dedicated section.
As Reliance Jio is also building a pan-India IPTV network with a locked-down Android set-top-box that does not allow customers to install third party apps like Hotstar, Sony LIV etc, unless these players enter into content sharing agreement with the company.The agreement with Jio indicates that Sun TV’s content may be available of Jio Fiber box. With the addition of JioCinema, the number of apps on which Sun TV’s movies is available has risen to four — Sun’s own Sun NXT, Jio Cinema, Vodafone Play and Idea Movies and TV.
