Opera has unveiled globally its new Netflix-style subscription service for Android apps, Apps Club, which is a browser-based app store and a digital application distribution platform. The Apps Club offers an alternative distribution and monetization model for apps based on an unlimited “all you can download” subscription offer, payable through operators’ billing system.
Opera Apps Club can be highly customized for each mobile operator's audience, focusing on games or apps from hundreds of developers worldwide, as the operator requires. With over six million active subscribers, Opera Apps Club provides an effective channel for app developers, through which they can get their apps discovered and monetized across the globe. For carriers, it provides a highly engaging and relevant service they can offer to their users, as well as increased revenue over time, the company said in a release.
Opera Apps Club will able to reach a wider audience of mobile users who would otherwise not have access to premium mobile apps, especially in emerging markets, where credit-card and debit-card penetration remains low, the release added.
Opera acquired Bemobi in August 2015, adding its leading, app-subscription service to Opera’s portfolio of operator solutions. The service, originally available throughout Brazil and Latin America in partnership with 34 wireless carriers and two smartphone OEMs, will continue to roll out globally this year as Opera Apps Club.
“Since its inception, Opera Apps Club has been designed with high scalability in mind to accommodate future business growth,” says Pedro Ripper, CEO of Bemobi, an Opera company. “Leveraging Opera’s global footprint, we can deliver services that benefit end users, operators and app-developers, globally.”
