A popular choice in the online streaming market, Netflix has been trying to break deep into the Indian entertainment market since years. The new model seems to be the mobile-only plan.
Touted to launch in Malaysia soon, a similar mobile-only plan is expected in India as well.
While they have some of the most popular online movies and shows in the country, it is yet to take a significant share of the market. Hotstar continues to take the lead, and Amazon Prime is raking up slowly backed by its exclusive e-commerce offers.
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Mobile-Only Netflix Plans: Global Launch
The mobile-only Netflix platform is currently is being tested in a few countries. Malaysia is going to be one of the first countries to avail the latest mobile-only Netflix plans. The plans will come at a lower price compared to the other Netflix plans.
The mobile-only model will offer the US-based company with an opportunity to expand its market.
The Netflix mobile-only plan cost 17 Malaysian ringgit a month, which roughly translates to INR 293. As per the sources, the streaming giant is running similar trials in a few other countries as well.
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Mobile-Only Netflix Plans In India
In India, Netflix currently has a 1.4 percent market share compared to Amazon’s 5 percent and Hotstar’s whopping 70 percent. If you do the maths, the basic Netflix plan in India costs Rs 499 a month. Comparatively both Amazon Prime and Hotstar only costs Rs 999 a year.
Amazon and Hotstar also have monthly plans priced at Rs 129 and Rs 199 a month respectively.
In a price sensitive market like India, pricing remains a major factor for consumers to choose an entertainment platform.
While Netflix can never compete with Amazon Prime and Hotstar with its pricing, the new mobile-plan may help the company to outshine its competitors in terms of price.
Netflix is very popular in India because of its shows, films and the library of content it offers.
If the Netflix mobile-only plan is launched in India at maybe 199 a month or 249 a month, this will still be half of what its basic plan costs. This may turn out to be a game-changer for Netflix in the country given its upcoming list of shows and movies for India.
Putting Money On Original Indian Shows
While Amazon Prime is focusing on regional content, Netflix is trying to grow on original Indian content. Its last few shows like Sacred Games and Ghoul has been hugely successful in India.
Hotstar continues to lead its streak with live sports and Indian shows.
Netflix has a huge pile of shoes lined up backed by producers like Shahrukh Khan and Karan Johar. There’s a second season in work to the very successful Sacred Games, and there’s a lot of original content waiting.
A mobile-plan before the launch of these shows may help Netflix to cater to a new segment of audience altogether.
Jio GigaFiber Tops Netflix ISP Speed Index
Even in the trial phase, Jio GigaFiber has been able to achieve an average playback rate of 3.48 Mbps beating established players like Airtel, 7 Star Digital and Spectranet in streaming speeds.
Its now two months that Jio GigaFiber continue to lead the Netflix ISP LeaderBoard table.
Jio GigaFiber is now currently available in a number of selected locations under its preview offer. The final rollout in expected to happen in a few weeks, probably by early 2019 in as many as 1,100 cities across the country.