Netflix India has lowered its subscription fees across the board in an effort to grow its user base in the face of fierce competition from Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime, and a slew of other Indian subscription videos on demand (SVOD) providers.
The business has dropped the price of its popular mobile plan from Rs 199 to Rs 149 per month. The basic plan is now Rs 199 per month instead of Rs 499 per month, the standard plan is now Rs 499 per month instead of Rs 649 per month, and the premium plan is now Rs 649 per month instead of Rs 799 per month.
Amazon Prime has a monthly plan that starts at Rs 129, while Disney+Hotstar charges Rs 1499 for premium services and Rs 499 for Disney+Hotstar mobile.
The corporation is calling the new plans “Happy New Prices,” and they will take effect on December 14, 2021.
Netflix India’s Vice President of Content, Monika Shergill, told ET that the price decrease coincides with the company’s content strategy and the release of new content. “We’ve been releasing significant titles over the last three weeks. And, according to the Netflix calendar, major programs and films will be released on a regular basis. And it’s the type of programming that caters to a broad audience. It was the perfect timing now that the information was ready for such a huge audience.
In November, Netflix revealed two original titles from India, in addition to worldwide action thrillers including Red Notice, The Harder They Fall, and The Princess Switch. Dhamaka by Ram Madhvani and Meenakshi Sundareshwar
Decoupled, a film by R. Madhavan and Surveen Chawla will be released in December.
So, as it pursues more members, is Netflix prioritizing expansion above profitability?
Because we know the type of entertainment we’ve developed will attract more people to the service, there will be growth and huge profitability “Shergill argues.
Even during the pandemic, Netflix India’s content head stated that the streaming giant was focusing on lining up cutting-edge programming.
“It’s been a long and winding road. Despite the shutdowns and restarts, we’ve been producing excellent material across the board. But now we’re ready to go all out with our material, and now is the perfect time to make the pricing change “Shergill stated.
Like many other online services, the SVOD behemoth saw a surge in net subscriber additions and engagement levels during the pandemic, so how did Indian customers consume material during the last 20 months? “We’ve seen a lot of experimentation among Indian users in the last few years. It’s common knowledge that we “pulled forward” a lot of the audiences as new subscribers joined the service, but what was most interesting was how they consumed the content, what they liked, what languages they liked, and how many things they watched with subtitles and dubs. Everything seemed to indicate that the public was ready for a lot more experimenting in this area “Shergill stated.
In July 2019, Netflix introduced its consumer-friendly Rs 199/M plan, which resulted in an influx of new subscribers to the streaming service.
“As a result, we’ve gained access to a new market. It was all about meeting people where they were and giving them what they wanted to watch. For all entertainment aficionados, we wanted to preserve a very consumer-first approach, a very entertainment-first approach “Shergill stated.
According to Netflix India’s ROC filings, the company’s topline in FY21 was Rs 1526.36 crore, up from Rs 923.33 crore the year before.
Netflix Co-Founder, Chairman, and Co-CEO Reed Hastings told the media during a recent visit to India in September that the firm had invested close to Rs 3000 crore in the last two years and planned to invest more in the coming years.
He claimed that Netflix has already released 70 originals in India and that another 90 were in the works.
As per Media Partners Asia forecasts, by 2026, India would have more than 200 million direct SVOD subscriptions, or 1 in every 4 broadband consumers will pay for online entertainment and sports content.