Netflix Plans To Increase Its Subscriber Base; Working Hard To Attract Users In India

Netflix has recently announced its Q1 results, where the platform said it has garnered 15.8 million new subscribers. However, the company has not shared the country-wise new addition but said that India is also doing well from them.

"We have been working really hard to try and make our offering in India more competitive, more attractive to members and members-to-be, and there's a bunch of different product features we've been doing, partnerships and payments integrations," Netflix chief product officer Greg Peters said.

In fact, in order to attract more users in India, the company is planning to adopt an aggressive approach. The announcement comes at that time when the demand for OTT platforms has been increased by 82 percent in India. In fact, recently, Netlfix announced its plans to Rs. 3,000 crore in the Indian market.

"We've seen big growth in viewing in India and have had great success on our local originals there, that have really been driving a lot of engagement in local content on our India service," Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said.

Last year in July, Netflix launched its Rs. 199 plan, where it is offering content on one screen on standard definition. The plan was first introduced in India, and later on, the company had launched this plan in Malaysia and the Philippines. Besides, the company has announced discounts on plans to give a tough fight to other OTT players like Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Mx Player, Voot, and Disney+ Hotstar.

If we talk about the pricing of these plans, then they are priced at Rs. 199, Rs. 499, Rs. 649, and Rs. 799. The first and the cheapest plan of Rs. 199 offers one screen with SD streaming. This plan offers all content of the platform, while Rs. 499 plan provides one screen whether it is mobile, laptop, and smart television, along with HD streaming quality. Then, there's Rs. 649 plan where you get two screens and HD quality. Lastly, Rs. 799 plan provides four screens at one time. It also supports HD and Ultra HD mode.

Despite the fact that Netflix claims that it is doing well in the country, it is facing tough competition from homegrown OTT players, such as Hotstar and Zee5. Currently, Hotstar is serving 300 million customers, and now it has tied up with Disney to attract more users towards its platform. On the other hand, Zee5 is offering content on regional languages, which itself makes it different from other players.