NNetflix, World’s biggest and most influential on-demand entertainment app, is slowly, but gradually understanding what India needs.
And how to lure Indians.
Ofcourse, price is what matters here, and this is the reason that Netflix has introduced a new concept of pricing: Rs 65 per week.
Is this the start of a new price war in India, among OTTs?
Netflix’s New Gambit: Rs 65/Week Plan For Mobile
As part of a new experiment, Netflix has introduced Rs 65 per week plan, which will allow access of Netflix only on mobile phones.
A Netflix spokesperson confirmed this, as he said, “We will be testing different options in select countries where members can watch Netflix on their mobile device for a lower price and subscribe in shorter increments of time.”
Only few selected users are able to access this plan as of now, but the introduction of a weekly plan is a paradigm shift in the way World’s largest OTT is viewing India.
No other country has a weekly plan as of now, except for India.
Netflix’s Experiments Continue With Pricing and Plans
Netflix’s actual plans start from Rs 500 per month, and goes upto Rs 800 per month, depending on the access of screens, and quality of videos.
Last month, in order to entice more users into their platform, Netflix started a new mobile-only plan which costs Rs 250 per month. This was first tested in Malaysia, and based on the positive feedback, the same has been launched in India.
This was 50% discount from their original plan.
Besides Rs 65, Netflix also has three other weekly plans: Rs 125, Rs 165 and Rs 200. The higher plans increase access to more screens, and introduce HD qualty videos.
Netflix’s Satchet Based Plans For India: The Reason
Now, Rs 65/week is a further sub-set of the Rs 250 plan, as it has been now broken into weekly packs, and, this is indeed a calculated move.
As witnessed in India via various researches, Indians love to buy less, and buy more often, and this is the reason that sachets of shampoo and tea and hair oil etc are the hottest selling commodities in India.
In case Netflix is able to turn this weekly plan of Rs 65 into a success, then it will indeed be a masterstroke, as none of the other OTTs in India have such weekly plans.
Is Netflix More Expensive Than Others?
Yes, and that’s another fact which we cannot ignore.
Despite introducing Rs 250/month and Rs 65/week for mobile-only access, Netflix is the most expensive OTT platform in India.
Their arch-rival Amazon Prime charges Rs 129/month, whereas India’s #1 OTT: Hotstar charges Rs 199 per month. #2 biggest player: Voot also charges Rs 199/month.
AltBalaji is cheapest, with Rs 100 per three months, and Zee5 charges Rs 99 per month.
Netflix has 139 million users worldwide, out of which 81 million are outside the US.
Will Netflix lower their plans for India? This is the question everyone is asking now.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.