BookMyShow has entered the streaming platform race with its new video-on-demand service BookMyShow Stream where users can rent or buy latest films and watch them from the comfort of their home on various devices.
The streaming service will be available on the BookMyShow app, BookMyShow website, Apple TV, Android TV, Firestick, Chromecast and desktop browsers. Users can also download the content and watch it in offline mode.
On the launch day, 600 movie titles are available on the video-on-demand service to rent or buy. BookMyShow Stream plans to add 2000 titles in the next 9-12 months.
The service has been launched with relatively new Hollywood releases like Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984, among many others. The Gal Gadot-starrer, for example, can be purchased for Rs 799 and is also available for rent for Rs 499. Buying the film allows the user to revisit it whenever they want. In case the user decides to rent a film, they will have it only for 30 days. However, once they start playing the movie, it will only stay with them for two days.
Films like The Craft Legacy, Alone, The Peanut Butter Falcon are also listed in the new releases section. The service will add new content every Friday.
BookMyShow Stream has launched with 600 titles.
The service claims that it does not hamper the theatrical business as they will put up content on the streaming platform only after a film’s theatrical run. The various categories on the site are – Premieres, Exclusives, World Cinema, Missed in Theatres, Festival Favourites and dedicated Bundles. The price of films ranges from Rs 40 to Rs 700.
For example, 2020 film The Invisible Man, starring Elisabeth Moss, is available for rent for Rs 99. 1972 film Pakeezah can be bought for Rs 119 and is available for rent for Rs 49.
Presently, films like Unhinged, The Guilty, The Beach House are available on the Exclusives section. Korean film The Battleship Island, Spanish film A Fantastic Woman, French film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Japanese film We Are Little Zombies are some of the movies available in the World Cinema section. Older Indian films like Howrah Bridge, Pakeezah, Amar Akbar Anthony, Do Bigha Zameen are also available.
Ashish Saksena, COO – Cinemas, BookMyShow said in a statement, “With BookMyShow Stream – the largest Made-in-India Transaction Video-On-Demand platform yet, we are moving a step forward towards nurturing India’s movie consumption habit by providing users the best of global cinema right to their personal screens. BookMyShow Stream is an innovation that is a result of over two decades of deep consumer understanding and robust data insights on user behaviour and preferences. It will give entertainment lovers access to highly curated cinema offerings from around the world, thanks to some long-term, marquee and exclusive partnerships with global and Indian content powerhouses.”
“BookMyShow Stream is a natural extension of our cinemas business and respects the existing theatrical windows for content. It empowers users to pay only for the content that they watch – a prevalent trend in other global cinema markets, as yet untapped at scale in India. BookMyShow Stream aims to inculcate global consumption trends by providing a highly curated avenue for handpicked cinema from across the world. With flexible purchase options and a seamless user interface, this new offering furthers BookMyShow’s journey from being a gateway to an evolved curator of tent pole content experiences,” he added.
