Netflix, the global streaming giant, is doing stellar business in India. After rolling out hits for Netflix India such as The Sacred Games, etc., India to Netflix has become an ever-widening market. The digital giant is taking steps to widen its Indian market in 2019.
The streaming giant just recently confirmed that it would be rolling out a less expensive subscription plan for India. The announcement was made at the Q2 2019 earnings call. With Disney’s digital streaming service Disney+ all set to rock the world, Netflix wants to make a place for itself in the market ahead of time, which means that it wants to get as many subscribers on board as would be possible.
At the Q2 2019, announcement, the launch date for this new subscription plan was not confirmed, and neither were the exact specifics of this plan, in terms of the cost or the content access announced. What was published though was the fact that this plan would roll out in this quarter itself.
Netflix said that they have worked on this plan after months and months of testing. A newer, lower-priced mobile-screen plan has been announced for India, in addition to the already existing plans. The said plan they said would launch in Q3 and would be an effective way to introduce a more significant number of people in India to Netflix, expanding the business in a market in India where Pay-TV ARPU is low (below $5). The CEO Netflix Reed Hastings said that they would continue to learn more after the nch of this plan.
Our guess by what we are told is that Netflix has decided on pricing the plan just under the $5 price point. That would roughly translate to around Rs 300 per month or even lower. That would be a thought competition to the likes of popular streaming services in India such as Hotstar which offers Hotstar VIP just at Rs 365 per year and Hotstar Premium plan priced at Rs 199 per month or Rs 999 per year. Amazon Prime Video is priced at Rs 129 per month or Rs 999 per year. Sony Liv which charges Rs 499 per year Premium and Zee5 which costs Rs 999 per year for the All Access Pack.
Netflix India, on the other hand, remains the most expensive service so far, priced at —Rs 500 (Standard Definition and streaming on one device), Rs 650 (High Definition and streaming on two devices) and Rs 800 (Ultra HD streaming on four devices simultaneously).