Vi App Now Lets You Watch OTT Content, Live TV Channels

Vi (formerly known as Vodafone Idea) on Thursday, August 26 announced that it is integrating the existing Vi Movies & TV app into the Vi App to deliver a unified experience. As a result of the update, the Vi App will now double up as an over-the-top (OTT) app alongside providing users access to their account details and services including recharge and bill payments. The Vi Movies & TV app offered live TV shows, movies, and premium content from OTT platforms such as Voot Select, Discovery, and Lionsgate Play. All this will now be accessed through the Vi App.

The integration is initially live for Android users, though it will soon be available for Vi consumers on iOS. Users can download the Vi App on their Android devices from the Google Play store.

With the integration, Vi subscribers will now be able to access over 450 live TV channels such as Animal Planet, Colors HD, Colors Infinity, Discovery, History TV, and Zee TV through the Vi App. It will also include live news channels including NDTV 24x7 and premium content from various OTT platforms such as Discovery, Lionsgate Play, SunNxt, Shemaroo Me, and Voot Select. The premium content is, however, limited to customers using a higher value prepaid or postpaid plan.

Vi reportedly added Basic, Classic, and VIP tier to the Vi Movies and TV app in January. That move was essentially to offer premium content through Classic and VIP tier exclusively to customers with a higher value prepaid or postpaid plan.

In addition to the app, Vi has the Vi Movies & TV website that provides access to OTT content to Web users. The operator confirmed to Gadgets 360 that the portal will remain in place after the integration.

The new announcement comes just days after Vi revealed plans to launch its music streaming service. That move could enable the telco to take on the likes of Airtel and Jio that both have dedicated music streaming services for their subscribers.

“I am happy to announce that Vi would be launching a music streaming service in partnership with a leading music service provider, which will be available to all our prepaid and postpaid consumers,” Ravinder Takkar, MD and CEO of Vi, had said during the company's earnings call last week.

Takkar added that the partnership would bring a “rich repository” of music across genres and languages, covering over 15 Indian languages. The service will also have podcasts, live events, and music videos as part of the offering, the executive said, without providing the exact launch schedule.