Netflix continues to treat India as the stomping ground for its fresh payment plans and other features, as it tries to lure users in a market with 700 Mn internet users and nearly as many smartphone users. The company is now planning to offer selected users in India, free access to Netflix over the weekend.
The plan to extend access to Netflix for no cost over the weekend will be tried in selected markets and will be first rolled out in India, where the company competes with Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar, and around three dozen other streaming giants.
“We think that giving everyone in-country access to Netflix for free for a weekend could be a great way to expose a bunch of new people to the amazing stories that we have, the service and how it works … and hopefully get a bunch of those folks to sign up,” he said during the earnings call. As of now, no dates for the launch of the feature have been announced by the company.
Previously, the company has devised India-specific subscription plans.
Last year, the company had launched an INR 199/month subscription plan for users in India, which restricts the usage of the service to just one device and offers only the standard definition viewing at ~480p. It also supports viewing on tablets.
Sources reported Netflix was testing an INR 349/month Mobile+ plan for Indian users. Subscribers to the plan would be able to watch high definition (HD) content on the platform, on a single device at a time.
The company has also started producing unscripted content (reality TV, quiz, and game shows) in India from this year, besides its slate of 22 films and television shows to be produced and released in India (some have already been released).
The company’s expansive India strategy indicates its hurried bid to grab a piece of the large market size for OTT platforms in India.