Netflix India slashes fees for all plans in effort to deepen penetration in country
The company has reduced its popular mobile plan to Rs 149/month from Rs 199/month. The basic plan now costs Rs 199/M instead of Rs 499/month, the standard plan stands at Rs 499/month instead of Rs 649/month and the premium plan is down to Rs 649/month from Rs 799/month.
FollowAmerican streaming platform Netflix India on Tuesday dropped prices across its subscription plans in an attempt to aggressively expand its base in a country that is crucial for its business and still has millions of untapped users.
Netflix is reducing its India pricing for the first time since the service's foray in 2016 as it looks to ramp up its user base amid intense competition and a rising appetite for digital content in the country.
The entertainment streaming service slashed the price of its flagship basic plan—it allows customers access to content on any one device including television--by 60 per cent from Rs 499 to Rs 199. The mobile-only monthly plan in HD quality—an experiment the company started in July 2019—was reduced to Rs 149 from Rs 199. The plan is a hit, accounting for about nearly half of Netflix’s subscriber base, according to industry assessment.
The service's most expensive Premium tier that offers Ultra high-definition (Ultra HD) content with support for four concurrent screens, is now priced at Rs 649 per month, down from Rs 799 per month. Â Â
Amongst competitors, Amazon Prime's monthly plan starts at Rs 129/month, while Disney+Hotstar charges its subscribers Rs 1499 yearly for premium services and Rs 499 for Disney+Hotstar mobile.
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“The new price plans are in line with our strategy to provide content that goes deeper into the country and aims to reach wider audiences," Monika Shergill, vice-president, content, Netflix India told Livemint.
The platform is introducing a diverse range of titles, Shergill said, both films and series, that are aimed at targeting masses, while already investing in dubbing and subtitling. The move stems from the global traction that Indian titles have seen over the past few months and the higher number of users the platform has seen come on board during the past year-and-a-half of the pandemic.
She said the latest move means existing users will have the option to see upgrade to more benefits at the price they were paying or go for a lower rate to continue availing the same benefits.
According to Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) estimates, Netflix is far behind in terms of subscription customers worldwide: it is expected to add 5.5 million subscribers by the end of 2021, fewer than Hotstar Disney (46 million) and Amazon Prime (21.8 million).
