Telcos use IPL to attract new subscribers in India

Telecom companies in India are using the Indian Premier League (IPL) to attract new customers with special offers. Reliance Jio is offering a free 90-day streaming subscription to JioHotstar and a 50-day AirFiber broadband connection for new customers. Vodafone Idea is also joining the competition by providing free JioHotstar subscriptions with all its unlimited prepaid and postpaid plans. Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom provider, has not yet launched any IPL-specific promotions. Analysts believe that sporting events like the IPL are a great chance for companies to upgrade customers to 5G and broadband services. Although the immediate financial benefits are limited, attracting new users could lead to long-term subscriptions. Vodafone Idea is particularly focused on gaining back ground lost to competitors as it recently introduced 5G in Mumbai, over two years after its rivals. Jio’s aggressive offerings are seen as a strategic move, especially since it owns the streaming rights for the IPL. Despite the higher data usage during the IPL, analysts suggest that there might not be a significant increase in revenue because many users already have unlimited data plans. Airtel, with the highest average revenue per user in the industry, may be cautious about launching new promotions that could dilute its profitability.