Netflix lowers prices in effort to deepen penetration in India

American streaming platform Netflix has introduced a range of new price plans for India, lowering rates in an effort to woo more audiences and deepen penetration in the country.

The mobile-only plan, earlier priced at ₹199 per month, will now come for ₹149. The basic plan that allows access to all content on any one device has been significantly reduced to ₹199 versus ₹499.

The premium plan that works across four devices costs is cheaper too at ₹649. These rates will come into effect as of Tuesday.

“The new price plans are in line with our strategy to provide content that goes deeper into the country and aims to reach wider audiences,” Monika Shergill, vice-president, content, Netflix India told Mint.

The platform is introducing a diverse range of titles, Shergill said, both films and series, that are aimed at targeting masses, while already investing in dubbing and subtitling. The move stems from the global traction that Indian titles have seen over the past few months and the higher number of users the platform has seen come on board during the past year-and-a-half of the pandemic.

Shergill said the latest move means existing users will have the option to see upgrade to more benefits at the price they were paying or go for a lower rate to continue availing the same benefits.

The Netflix move comes nearly five months after Disney+ Hotstar unveiled a range of new price plans including a mobile-only plan for ₹499 per year, for ₹899 per year across two devices and for ₹1,499 per year across four devices. Hotstar was earlier priced at ₹399 per annum for its VIP service and ₹1,499 for Premium.

Netflix had launched the ₹199 per month mobile subscription in 2019, and the Amazon Prime Video membership can be accessed by Airtel pre-paid customers starting at ₹89 a month. Live Mint