Introduction

In the 1980s, Tim Berns Lee invented the World Wide Web. Since its inception, the Internet has taken the world by storm. The internet provides a whole gamut of entertainment options that are reachable to people around the world, irrespective of their economic, geographical, or demographic barriers. Email, the stock market bursts, .com invention, Google, webpages, websites; Yes, all these technologies are the offerings of the Internet to us.

The latest advent of the Internet is streaming apps. Streaming apps enable us to watch video content by downloading it onto our systems, mobiles, or TV. They work by playing the video content as it downloads. We do not have to wait for it to download in its entirety or wait for the entire video content to finish downloading. The internet downloads the video in small portions, or what is called in the internet language the internet allows small portions to buffer. Thus, a bit of video is downloaded and played and this buffering and downloading continues until the entire video content is downloaded onto the device we are watching. Once you have finished viewing a piece of video, it is deleted from your device.

Through this article, we shall be talking to you about some of the most entertaining and delightful movie-streaming apps of our time.

Let’s binge together.

Movie Streaming Apps in India

Amazon Prime: Our top pick in the movie streaming apps category is our very own Amazon company’s Prime streaming app. Amazon Prime Video, also known as just Prime Video, is an American over-the-top (OTT) video-on-demand streaming and rental service that can be accessed separately or as part of an Amazon Prime membership. It is available to us in 30 languages. Available in multiple countries, Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service that allows users to access extra services that are either inaccessible or cost more to other Amazon customers.

Founded in the year 2005 on the 2^nd February, 19 years ago in Washington DC, Seattle, USA, the owner of this steaming app is Amazon.

India is just one of the many nations where Amazon Prime, a paid subscription service, is accessible. In July 2016, the tech giant introduced the Prime service in India. Prime membership services include grocery shopping, gaming, e-books, streaming music, on-demand video streaming including web series, TV shows, movies, etc., and same-day or one- or two-day product delivery. With almost 10 million subscribers, Amazon Prime is among the top OTT services in India.

Some popular Amazon Prime Video titles- Maidaan, Panchayat, Yodha, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, Maxton Hall, The Idea Of You, Forever My Girl, The Test, Dil Dosti Dilemma, Indian Police Force, Fleabag, Citadel, Paatal Lok, Made in Heaven, Jack Ryan, Farzi, The Family Man, Citadel, Jee Karda, Sweet Karam Coffee, Adhura, and many more.

Netflix: Netflix is a subscription-based streaming video platform available in the United States and now in India. It was established in 1997 and offers a wide range of content, including movies, web series, TV shows, documentaries, anime, and more. Early in 2016, Netflix began providing over-the-top services in India. The technology company, situated in California, is ranked 164th out of 500 Fortune 500 companies. With five million subscribers in India, Netflix offers five different plans ranging in price from INR 199 to INR 799 per month.

Some popular Netflix titles– Heart of Stone, Purple Hearts, Redeeming Love, Love, Divided, The Kissing Booth Series, Heermandi: The Diamon Bazaar, Bridgerton, Laapata Ladies, Guns & Gulaabs, A Time Called You, Squid Game, Emily in Paris, Maid, You, Sex Education, Dark, Mismatched, Delhi Crime, Kota Factory, and many more.

Hotstar: In India, Disney+Hotstar is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service that requires a membership. The Walt Disney Company’s Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution departments run the business, which is owned by Star India. In India, Hotstar debuted in 2015. The Walt Disney Company purchased Star India in 2019. Despite providing movies, TV shows, web series, and other content, Hotstar’s emphasis on live-streaming sporting events has contributed to the OTT platform’s over 8 million subscribers. The Hotstar plans begin at INR 399 annually.

Some popular Disney+Hotstar titles– Legend of Hanuman, Gunaah, Twilight, Patna Shukla, Ice Princess, Sita Ramam, Gulmohar, Rudra, Aakhri Sach, The Vaccine War, Creulla, Frozen, Sultan of Delhi, Freelancer, Aakhri Sach, Shaitan, City of Dreams, and more.

SonyLIV: One of the top OTT platform providers in India, SonyLIV, is owned by Sony Pictures Networks India. The portal was launched in 2013 and provides films, TV shows, original web series, live sports events, games, and material licensed from outside companies including Lionsgate and ITV. SonyLiv boasts more than 1.81 million subscribers. Three subscription plans are available on the OTT platform: INR 299/year, INR 399/year, and INR 999/year.

Some popular Sony LIV titles– Gullak, 36 days, Maharani, Undekhi, Tanaav, Kathmandu Connection, Raisinghani Vs Raisinghani, Adrishyam, MasterChef India, Indian Idol, Shark Tank, Scam 1992, Scam 2003, Rocket Boyz, Jengaburu Cause, Charlie Chopra and the Mystery of Solang, KBC, and more.

MX Player: MX Media and Entertainment created MX Player, one of India’s free over-the-top platforms. The platform currently runs on an ad-supported business model and claims to have over 150,000 hours of streaming content available in twelve languages, including Tamil, Hindi, and English. MX Player apps allow you to view content on iOS and Android devices as well as the web. Times Internet acquired the majority of the platform in 2018 for $140 million. In multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and more, MX Players provides content in the following formats: movies, TV series, web series, music, live TV, originals, and more.

Some popular MX Player titles– Paper, Bezubaan, Ek Thi Begum, Campus Diaries, Thinkistan, Indori Ishq, Agent Vinod, Chennai Central, English Vinglish, The Outpost, and more.

Jio Cinema: The lowest-priced streaming service in India, JioCinema, is owned by Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Launched on September 5, 2016, the subscription-based over-the-top (OTT) streaming service offers a vast library of material, including movies, TV series, web series, music videos, and documentaries. There is a web application as well as mobile applications available for iOS and Android smartphones. In terms of spectators, JioCinema has a market share of more than 7%. Jio customers with Prime membership are the only ones able to access the OTT platform, and there are no extra fees.

Some popular Jio Cinema titles- Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last Of Us, Euphoria, Broken But Beautiful, Chornobyl, Crackdown, Parks and Recreation, Stree, Asur, Bigg Boss OTT, Ranneeti, Ishq Next Door, Mimi, Dasvi, Bloody Daddy, Trial Period, Blind & more.

Eros Now: In India Eros Now has about 39.3 million subscribers. The greatest films and entertainment content may be found on the free membership OTT platform Eros Now. In both black and white celebrity interviews are one of the app’s main highlights.

Some popular Eros Now titles- Qaafir, Modi, Flesh, A Viral Wedding, Ra One, Sanam Teri Kasam, Devdas, RHTDM, English Vinglish, Manmarziyaan, Ek Villian, Aligarh, Tanu Weds Manu, Omkara, Thoda Adjust Karlo, Metro Park 2, Flesh 7, Unkahee, August 25, and more.

Zee5: Zed Entertainment Enterprises owns ZEE5, one of the best over-the-top (OTT) services in India. In February 2018, the over-the-top (OTT) streaming service with a subscription model was introduced, providing multilingual material. There are ZEE5 apps available for iOS, Android, Web, and Smart TV devices. With over 1.8 million users, the domestic OTT platform provides a diverse selection of material in 12 languages, including original TV series, films, music, and films. ZEE5 supports three screens at once and has a single subscription plan that costs INR 999/year (currently available for INR 499 for a short time).

Some popular Zee5 titles- Mrs. Undercover, India Lockdown, TVF Pitchers, Rangbaz, Mukhbir, Badnaam Gali, Tripling, Abhay, Lal Bazaar, The Kashmir Files, 14 Phere, Tarla, Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai, Ardh, Chatriwali, and more.

YouTube: In India, a popular streaming service is available called the YouTube streaming app. In addition to movie soundtracks, films, trailers, and more, it has many original series. The app is available for free to all users, but a subscription is required to access the content without advertisements.

Voot: Viacom18 is the owner of Voot, one of the top OTT content providers in India. Launched in 2016, the ad-supported video-on-demand platform is accessible as a web app for desktop computers and as apps for iOS, Android, and KaiOS (JioPhone) smartphones. In addition, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Android TV devices can access it. Only accessible in India, the over-the-top (OTT) service offers over 40,000 hours of material, including programming from Nickelodeon, MTV, and Colours. Additionally, Voot provides content in several languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Bengali, Odia, Kannada, and Marathi. Voot claims to have one million subscribers and one hundred million monthly active users. The subscription fee is INR 999/year. For a limited period, users can subscribe for INR 299/year.

Summary

Streaming apps like Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube provide access to large libraries of movies, TV shows, and music without the need for physical media or program scheduling. Whenever and wherever you want to watch any content, you just have to open that streaming app locate the video content, and open it. The video content starts downloading in pieces and plays on your TV or any device you wish to watch it on.

OTT platforms have grown significantly in India in the last few years, particularly during the pandemic. The way that people watch videos, including movies, has completely changed. India is one of the OTT markets that is expanding the fastest; by 2022. Total subscriptions were predicted to have increased from INR 19 billion in 2020 to INR 46 billion. Regional OTT platforms have jumped in and gotten quite the catch because of the sharp increase in regional content!

Happy binging!

Popular shows in each category, Source: https://www.smartprix.com/bytes/ott-streaming-services-plans-in-india/