Netflix is launching a mobile-only version of its streaming service in India today. The lower-priced plan will cost Rs 199 ($2.80) per month, and it’s restricted to a single mobile device with standard 480p streams. While the new tier is only launching in India today, Netflix has hinted it would test the service in select countries so it could expand further in the future. The announcement comes just days after Netflix revealed a mobile-only service would launch in Q3.
Last week the company’s surprising Q2 earning results revealed it has only increased by 2.7 million paid customers globally, nearly half of the subscribers it was forecast to have increased by at this point. Netflix stock has continued to drop over the past week, signaling broader worries about the company’s slowdown. As part of a promotional offer in India, select new customers will be able to use the streamer for INR5 (€0.06) for their first month. Following this trial, the users will then be able to select from the INR199 (€2.55) mobile plan, the INR499 (€6.40) single screen plan, the INR649 (€8.32) double screen standard plan and the INR799 (€10.25) four-screen premium plan.
The company had previously offered one month for free to users in the country, but that offer was phased out by December 2019. Even at its cheapest point, Netflix is on the pricier side of streamers in India. Market leader Hotstar (owned by Disney) offers its two packages VIP – which includes live sports along with Indian TV shows and movies – for INR365 (€4.63) per year; and premium – including everything offered by VIP along with American shows and Hollywood blockbusters without ads – for INR299 (€3.79) per month or INR999 (€12.67) per year. By comparison to Hotstar’s 300 million monthly users, Netflix and Amazon both have less than 30 million Indian users.
This Netflix announcement also comes shortly before Disney rolls out Disney+ through Hotstar in India on March 29. During its Q1 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the two tiers would be rebranded to reflect the inclusion of Disney+. He said: “One will be more premium in nature that will include the entire library, so with the original programming and the other one will be more basic that will have the library and not the original programming". Netflix’s new mobile-only plan will work on one smartphone or a tablet at a time in India, and the company is hoping this will spur growth in an important market. “Our members in India watch more on their mobiles than members anywhere else in the world- and they love to download our shows and films,” says Ajay Arora, director of product innovation at Netflix. “We believe this new plan will make Netflix even more accessible and better suit people who like to watch on their smartphones and tablets—both on the go and at home.”