Bharti Airtel (Airtel) on Tuesday said that it will close its music app – Wynk Music — as it has tied up with Apple to bring exclusive offers of Apple TV+ and Apple Music to customers in India by the end of this year.
Launched in 2014, Wynk Music has around 100 million subscribers right now and its tariff rate ranges from ₹49 to ₹99 per month. Airtel offers it as part of its higher plans.
“Wynk will cease and Airtel users can access Apple Music. Wynk Premium users will also get exclusive offers from Airtel for Apple Music...Wynk employees will be absorbed into Airtel ecosystem,” a spokesperson for Airtel said.
The company said customers will get to access Apple TV+ and Apple Music content through video streaming platform Xstream and Wynk Music app later this year. Asked about the new tariff rates for the new app, the spokesperson said they are not decided yet.
High-quality content
“Airtel offers a one-stop shop to bring all content and entertainment through Airtel Xstream. This partnership with Apple will provide immense value to our customers since they will now have access to the best content and entertainment globally,” Amit Tripathi, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice-President - Customer Experience, Airtel said.
Large-screen video content viewership is growing at a fast pace in India, and there is a large appetite for high-quality video content among Indian users. Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, ground-breaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all screens, the company noted.
Airtel Xstream fiber also offers a large selection of TV shows, movies and web series, which come included with WiFi plans, and the addition of Apple TV+ will further enrich this content offering. Apple TV+ will come bundled with premium Airtel WiFi and Postpaid plans, it added.
“With our ever-growing catalogue of world-class films, television shows and music to choose from, we know there will be something for everyone,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice-president of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports and Beats.