Exclusive: Airtel set to launch live-streaming app Xstream Live for artists

Live-streaming has covered some distance in India with the popularity of BigoLive and VMate in the past couple of years. And now, Airtel also wants to ride the wave of live streaming with its new product — Airtel Xstream Live.

The app looks to provide a platform for content creators to live-stream virtual concerts, sessions and musical gigs. Airtel Xstream Live made its debut on Play Store only a few weeks ago. It essentially enables artists to connect and engage with their fan base by hosting live performances.

Airtel Xstream Live also provides a virtual stage to conduct concerts and one can conduct AMA (ask me anything) sessions and promotions. Artists can also share stories, moments and promote brands for their upcoming projects. 

According to two Entrackr sources, Airtel has been working on this product for about six months and was also eyeing to acquire content creating studios. 

“It was scouting for such firms 2-3 months ago but it’s unknown whether it successfully acquired any platform or not,” said one of the sources aware of the plan on condition of anonymity. “The app would start an aggressive onboarding campaign soon with a focus on Bollywood and regional celebrities.”

A source also said that Airtel Xstream Live (link) would not be like Bigo Live or Vigo and will look to move away. “It will build a community around mainstream celebrities looking to amplify their reach through virtual shows,” said the second source. The person also requested not to be named.

Airtel didn't respond to a request for comment.

It’s worth noting that Airtel also had launched a converged digital entertainment platform Airtel Xstream in September. It bundles three formats: app, Airtel TV and a catalogue of over 15,000 movies and shows from popular streaming services including Netflix, Amazon, ZEE5 among others.

Airtel Xstream has over 10 million downloads while Xstream Live which has just been launched has over 500 downloads. At present, Airtel Xstream Live is in closed beta and logins are allowed on an invite-only basis.

The debut of Airtel in the live streaming space is fascinating and makes a lot of sense for the telecom major who has been fighting Jio on the core business. Driving adoption for the new app won’t be a challenge for the Gurugram-based firm as it can leverage the network effect of hundreds of millions of existing users.