When it comes to content in India, Netflix India is making a splash. Its 2018 Sacred Games series, a sprawling gangster epic helmed by two of India’s best directors and starring a who’s who of Bollywood A-listers, created a stir. The series was featured in the Economist magazine and earned a glowing review from a top entertainment critic. The Indian entertainment market is vast, but most consumers still opt for films and television shows.
Netflix’s strategy for the next five years
The Indian market is one of the most competitive for online video streaming services, and Netflix has a lot to do to gain ground there. It’s competitive with Amazon Prime and Hotstar, both of which offer modestly priced media streaming models. To gain a foothold in the Indian market, Netflix will need to test several different pricing models and local content. The company also wants to expand into regional languages.
One way to increase the subscriber base is to lower the prices for subscriptions. While Netflix’s prices have been relatively stable for several years, they recently slashed the prices for its four subscription tiers. For example, the Basic plan was lowered by 60 percent, from $6.24 to INR 199. Netflix did not say why the company cut the price, but the decision shows that the company is betting on revenue maximisation in the long run.
Netflix pricing Plane
Pricing of Netflix India is a major concern for Indian consumers. According to a new Accenture report, 74% of Indian SVOD subscribers feel that content is too expensive, and 46% plan to reduce their media spending in the next year. Since Netflix is the most expensive of all Indian OTT services, it is likely to bear the brunt of decreased SVOD usage. The company must rethink its pricing strategy to meet the content conundrum and ensure that its subscribers get value for their money.
While Netflix has a strong foundation in the US and UK, it had assumed that the Indian market would be no different. However, it seems to have been wrong. The company is concentrating on new content, localisation, and programming partnerships rather than addressing the pain points of its Indian users. In spite of these challenges, Netflix India has a solid foundation and over 6 Mn users in India.
Its content
The Founder & Co-CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, recently said the company is planning to invest around Rs 3,000 crore in original content in India over the next two years. The company is already investing in more than 90 original titles in India, according to a recent report by Omdia, a global research agency.
To gain more market share in India, Netflix India has adopted various strategies like lowering subscription prices to compete with local streaming services and expanding its catalog of content in languages other than Hindi. However, it is also changing its global strategy and abandoning plans to release original films and focusing on licensed theatrical releases.
Netflix India Budget
The Indian subscription market was largely ignored by Netflix India in the past due to its extortionate pricing, but the streaming service has now rolled out affordable plans to attract more subscribers. The company has also partnered with Reliance Jio network to offer bundle subscription plans. It offers different plans to suit different budgets, from a one-month subscription to a twelve-month subscription.
Among the plans offered by Netflix India is the Rs 199 plan, which lets users stream content on one device at a time. However, the content is only available in SD resolution. On the other hand, the Rs 499 plan allows you to stream content on two devices simultaneously, and supports 1080p Full HD.
