Why should telcos have all the fun? Can e-retail crack content subscription bundling next?

New Delhi: There is an obvious overcrowding in the app market where driving downloads is expensive, customer acquisition costs are soaring, and user attention spans are shrinking. In this burgeoning battle for attention, platforms are desperately looking for smarter ways to reach users. 

For years, telecom providers have owned this distribution game. Whether it’s music, movies, shows, or live TV, your mobile plan or broadband bill has been the golden ticket to entertainment. Telcos bundled content where the users already were: on their phones.

But what if the next big distributor of entertainment was not your telecom provider but your go-to shopping platforms? An unusual alliance between e-retail platforms and streaming services could be the next horizon for the industry. 

According to Aamir Mulani, founder of PlayBox TV, e-commerce and quick commerce platforms won’t just be delivering snacks, wearables, and FMCG goods, but also streaming subscriptions. 

Speaking in the context of micro dramas, Mulani quipped, “Imagine Blinkit saying - you order groceries above this price point and you get a one-day subscription to watch micro dramas.” 

This idea flips the content-bundling model on its head. Instead of monthly recharge packs unlocking entertainment, it could be your next Flipkart order, a Lenskart purchase, or a Blinkit cart that buys you binge-worthy minutes of (but not limited to) snackable vertical dramas. 

This is different from what Amazon does with its ecosystem. Rather than locking the video into a year-long membership, this idea proliferates and propagates micro-subscriptions: fast, contextual, and transaction-led. 

And this does not have to stop at platforms. Brands themselves could become entertainment providers. Imagine buying a pressure cooker and unlocking a cooking show. The possibilities are endless. Every brand can curate its entertainment layer. This takes branded content beyond ads and makes it a value-add for consumers. “Every brand can have their content slate for such an alliance,” said Mulani. 

For micro drama platforms, many of whom are struggling with visibility, this could be a growth hack that replaces expensive app and content marketing with ready access to transacting users. If this idea is extrapolated to other streaming services, it can be a big leap from the traditional telco-driven entertainment world.

A new world where distribution is democratised and is imagined beyond data packs and SIM recharge offers. 

The big question, however, is whether e-commerce and quick commerce players are ready to jump into the entertainment aggregator and distributor game. If so, your next grocery wander could very well become your next guilty pleasure binge! What a food for thought!