Mumbai:  Eros International PLC (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a Global Indian Entertainment Company, announced today that Eros Now, its cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform has entered into a platform and content association with Indian state-owned telecommunications company – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). The association comes as an initiative to deliver high quality on-demand entertainment to BSNL consumers thus enhancing the reach of Eros Now paid subscribers across the rural parts of India.

The partnership between Eros Now and BSNL will further enhance the entertainment experience of BSNL’s post-paid as well as the pre-paid subscribers through their access to the Eros Now app including the vast library of over 11,000+ movies, digital originals, Eros Now Quickie, music videos and more. The alliance is a first for BSNL’s large pre-paid customer base to avail the services of an online video platform. The tie-up will allow all BSNL customers across all packs and tariffs to access the collection of Bollywood and Regional entertainment, on the go via the Eros Now app.

As per the recent report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), by 2020, half of the internet population in India will be from rural India as the internet penetration there is expected to grow to as much as 35%, thus driving Video OTT services to take off in rural India. Eros Now’s association with BSNL reiterates its own reach strategy in connecting with predominantly rural Tier II and III markets where the telecom service provider has a strong foothold.

Commenting on the partnership, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital, said, “As trends indicate, the OTT industry in India is expected to reach a size of $5 billion by 2023 with tier II, III and rural areas of India witnessing a sizeable increase in mobile penetration and data consumption. We are well poised to cater to this growing community and our alliance with BSNL is a step towards bridging the urban-rural gap and expanding our national reach”.

Mr. Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL informed that keeping up to the commitment of offering great service at affordable price to BSNL subscribers, BSNL has taken this initiative of offering unlimited free viewing of video content on the Eros Now app. This service will be made available to BSNL subscribers by end of January 2019.