Netflix has agreed to a "first-of-its-kind" deal with Jio Platforms, India's largest telecom operator, to offer the streaming service as part of two pay-as-you-go plans from the carrier as the American giant pushes to expand its subscriber base in the key Asian market.

Part of that new plan, the companies announced Friday, is a free mobile-only Netflix subscription - the same one that Jio already offers to its base 1,099-rupee ($13.2) plan subscribers will get a free Netflix Basic when they step up to Jio's 1,499 rupees ($18) monthly plan. The $13.2 plan offers 2GB of 5G data daily, while the $18 plan provides 3GB daily data. Both plans are valid for 84 days and include unlimited free voice calls.
"We are excited to deepen our partnership with Jio.". We have been launching a number of very successful local shows, documentaries and films over the years which have been loved by audiences across India. Our collection of must-watch stories is growing, and our new prepaid bundle partnership with Jio will give more customers access to this exciting line-up of Indian content as well as some incredible stories from around the world," said Tony Zameczkowski, vice president of APAC Partnerships for Netflix, in a statement.

This is the first time Netflix has partnered with a telecom operator in India to avail the streaming service on a prepaid, or pay-as-you-go plan, according to Reliance. Apart from this, there exists an existing partnership between both firms, offering a Netflix subscription through the carrier's postpaid and fibre plans. According to sources, a very large proportion of Indians in India top up their phones with pay-as-you-go plans instead of subscribing to the recurring subscription typical of most markets in developed countries.

A deeper alliance between the two firms signals a novel approach for Netflix in India, where the average revenue per subscriber is dramatically lower compared with both the U.S. and the U.K. This expansion comes at the same time as Netflix is hiking its subscription prices across multiple countries in the developed markets more than once in recent quarters, and it also simultaneously cracks down on the rampant password-sharing across its network globally.

For India's leading telecom with over 450 million users, Friday's move underscores the intensity of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries unit in its bid to outpace its competitors, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea. The company, outbidding its competitors to corner most of the $19 billion 5G spectrum license in India, has also widened its handset range to draw more users and recently offered free cricket streaming.

We are committed to bringing world-class services to our users. The launch of Netflix bundles with our prepaid plan is yet another step to demonstrate our resolve. Our partnership with global partners like Netflix has grown in strength and together we are creating use cases for rest of the world to follow," said Kiran Thomas, CEO of Jio Platforms Limited, in a statement.