Please wait...
Please wait...

Netflix readies Indian launch

Flagship Netflix original House of Cards

Flagship Netflix original House of Cards

Netflix will reportedly begin its 2016 global roll-out with a launch in India next week.

The US subscription VoD service is likely to launch in the Asian territory during the CES 2016 trade show, according to The Hindu.

As reported by C21 last year, Netflix will arrive in the territory with popular Indian programmes such as Buniyaad, Nukkad and Malgudi Days and plans to develop Bollywood original series.

The move, part of Netflix’s strategy to be “nearly global by 2016,” has caused Indian media companies to come up with strategies to diversify beyond linear TV, the report claims.

One of Netflix’s main rivals could be Hooq, a joint venture between SingTel, Warner Bros and Sony Pictures Television. The service allows users to stream and download movies and TV shows in India for 199 rupees (US$3.20) a month – cheaper than Netflix’s US$7.99 monthly rate.

Another competitor would be new player Hotstar, backed by Fox’s Star India network, which has large audiences for its sports properties including the Cricket World Cup. Other existing SVoD payers are Zee TV’s Ditto TV and Eros Now, owned by Eros Group. US-based OTT service YuppTV also launched in India with more than 200 channels last October.

India is the second largest mobile market in the world after China, which has 1.27 billion users. However, the country still faces infrastructure problems, with internet speeds still far lower than in the US. This is expected to improve rapidly as 4G is rolled out in the country.

Netflix announced its foray into Asia last September year by confirming plans to launch in Japan by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Sources have also told C21 the service will become available in South Korea during 2016, while speculation continues to mount that the company will roll out in China soon.

The firm expanded into Australia and New Zealand last March and announced launches across Southern Europe last summer.


In related news, Netflix is set to launch 13 new original series worldwide in 2016 and is bringing back several of its programmes, including House of Cards, for further seasons.

Please wait...