Netflix was launched in India in January 2016 and became a big hit among the youngsters when it released a thriller series 'Sacred Games' in July. The video streaming company has three price tier in India - Rs 500 for a basic plan, Rs 650 for a standard plan and Rs 800 for a premium plan.
In an interview with Reuters, the Chief Executive Director of Netflix, Reed Hastings, said that the subscription price in India is much lower than what it is in the United States. He said that there is a "typical mix" of subscribers across all the three plans in various countries and that there is no indication of a pricing issue. "Because If there were any issues, then everyone would be on the lower price plan," he added.
When asked if that meant the company is not intending to lower the prices in India, he said: "correct."
Having cheaper competitors like Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, etc. local industry players believe that streaming giant might find it difficult to compete. However, Hastings was confident that the company could still be successful amid cheaper competitors.
He added that the cost of Netflix in India is like paying for 2 or 3 movie tickets a month, "but you get to watch a lot more."
On October 16, after announcing the quarterly results, Chief Product officer Greg Peters said, "We'll experiment with other pricing models, not only for India but around the world that will allow us to broaden access by providing a pricing tier that sits below our current lowest tier." Signalling that there could be a lower-price plan coming to India. However, Hastings' interview with Reuters clarified that was not the case.
"It got misunderstood as a decision that we are going to have lower prices in India, which is not something we are particularly contemplating," he said.
Netflix has over 130 million subscribers worldwide. "The Indian market could deliver another 100 million subscribers," he added.
(With inputs from Reuters)