It has been over three years since Netflix announced its plans to expand its service to over 130 new markets. India is one of the markets and at that time, Netflix was one of the first major video streaming services in India. Yet now, Netflix’s failure has become only all the more apparent.
Here are the possible reasons why this streaming giant has yet to take over the Indian Market and if its new competitor Disney+ will follow the same path.
1) Price
Netflix prices have always been a source of contention with Indian audiences. Their prices are almost twice that of other streaming services in India. With their premium packages priced around Rs.800, the pricing is perhaps the most evident problem. However, they are planning to release some low-cost mobile-only subscription plans which will be priced at 250 rupees. Still higher than other plans, but it is a start.
2) Lack Of Regional Content
Although Netflix has produced some exceptional content, it is still too less and too late. In its initial year, Netflix had delayed action to produce some regional content and that delay is costing them dearly now.
The majority of Indian audiences still likes to watch series and movies in their regional languages rather than English. With plenty of regional languages in the country, it’s not hard to fathom that Netflix could have been confused about where to start.
3) Piracy
Let’s all face it. Piracy in India is very widespread. With so many of Netflix’s series and movies being available on pirated sites, most of the Indian audiences will refuse to pay for it. It’s a sad truth about the price sensitivity in India.
4) Restricted Access To Content
It does get rather frustrating when a person gets pays almost the same amount as those in the US but gets not more than half of the movies and TV series present there. Netflix only shows roughly 13-17% of their content in India and that is perhaps one of the major reasons for the small market share of Netflix in India’s streaming service.
Netflix has no doubt, made a few mistakes around the way but it is getting better at understanding their target audience. Here’s to hoping that Netflix and their audience get the credit they deserve.
