INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Netflix currently offers three monthly plans in India, priced between Rs 500 and Rs 800.Netflix Inc said on Wednesday it would roll out a
lower-priced mobile-only plan in India within the next three months to tap into a price-sensitive market at a time the streaming company is
losing customers in its home turf.India is among the last big growth markets for the company, where it faces competition from Amazon.com
Inc's Prime Video and Hotstar, a video streaming platform owned by Walt Disney Co's India unit.Netflix lost US streaming customers for
the first time in eight years on Wednesday, when it posted quarterly results
It also missed targets for new subscribers overseas."India is a mobile-first nation, where many first-time users are experiencing the
In such a scenario, a mobile-only package makes sense to target new users," said Tarun Pathak, analyst at Counterpoint Research.The creator
of "Stranger Things" and "The Crown" said in March that it was testing a Rs 250 monthly subscription for mobile devices in India, where data
plans are among the cheapest in the world.The country figures prominently in Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings' global expansion
plans."We believe this plan, which will launch in the third quarter, will be an effective way to introduce a larger number of people in
India to Netflix and to further expand our business," the company said in a letter to investors released late on Wednesday.Netflix currently
offers three monthly plans in India, priced between Rs 500 and Rs 800.It has created a niche following in the country by launching local
original shows like the thriller "Sacred Games" and dystopian tale "Leila", which feature popular Bollywood actors.The second season of
"Sacred Games" is set to release in August.In contrast, Hotstar, which also offers content from AT-T Inc's HBO and also streams live
sports, charges Rs 299 rupees per month
Amazon bundles its video and music streaming services with its Prime membership."We've been seeing nice steady increases in engagement with
our Indian viewers that we think we can keep building on
Growth in that country is a marathon, so we're in it for the long haul," Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said.Get Breaking news,
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