VOD platform Clarovideo goes live in Mexico today, undercutting Netflix’s fees by two-thirds

Earlier this month we reported that video-on-demand (VOD) service Clarovideo was coming to Mexico and other Latin American countries, an announcement made by Telcel, the Mexican arm of Latin America’s largest mobile operator, América Móvil. Well, it seems the Mexican service rolls out today.

“We will have [Clarovideo] in all other countries [where we operate],” said Telcel’s director of Added Value Services and International Roaming, Marco Quatorze, last month. And according to FayerWayer, it should cover all of Latin America by the end of 2013.

As you may remember, it was recently announced that the film and TV service would fully launch in Brazil during Q1 2013, and it already operates (in beta) in Colombia and Argentina.

With the Mexico launch, TBIVision reports that Clarovideo is undercutting Netflix with a monthly subscription fee of 69 pesos ($5.32). This is around two-thirds of what Netflix costs, which launched last year for 99 pesos a month.

In addition to the main subscription, there’s also additional content available for premium prices, including top movies from 49 pesos, or standard movies from 19 pesos.

América Móvil also offers Infinitum, one of the major broadband services in Mexico, and it has recently launched 4G mobile Internet in the Mexican capital, as well as other major cities across the country. This should go some way towards helping it gain traction, and tempt both new subscribers and existing Netflix users on board.

América Móvil is the telecoms company run by Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim, and it already offers Uno TV, a free streaming service. As for the new launch, its users can pay as part of their Telmex bill, or by credit card.

Competition is certainly starting to heat up across the VOD sphere, and Latin America is no different. The growing list of over-the-top players includes Netflix as we’ve seen already, but also Bazuca and Walmart-owned movie streaming service Vudu. Earlier this week, we also reported that Totalmovie had partnered with Sony and unveiled live TV and carrier billing plans for Latin America. Totalmovie’s parent company belongs to Mexican media group Grupo Salinas, which also owns media giant TV Azteca and carrier Iusacell.

Feature Image Credit – Thinkstock