Netflix had been planning to launch a cheaper plan for people who watch content on their mobiles given the rise in users in India
Netflix has launched a lower-priced mobile plan in India that costs Rs 199 per month. The online streaming platform giant had announced that it had 2.7 million users in the country by the end of June this year.
Reports were released earlier about how Netflix was planning to launch a cheaper plan for people who use the streaming platform on their mobiles.
Netflix had been testing a Rs 250 monthly subscription for mobile devices in India.
The company has over 148 million paid memberships in over 190 countries. It doesn't disclose country-specific subscriber numbers.
Online content consumption in India has seen massive growth with data plans becoming more affordable. Data rates in India are among the cheapest globally.
At a press conference in New Delhi, Ajay Arora, director of product innovation reportedly said that mobile devices are increasingly driving consumption India and that Netflix users in India are watching more content on mobile phones than any other country.
Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos had referred growth in India as a "marathon".
"We are in it for the long haul and we are seeing nice steady progress," he said, adding that the company is also scaling up its library for the Indian market.
Netflix said its paid membership grew by 2.7 million in the second quarter, less than the 5.5 million in the year-ago period and its own forecast of 5 million for the June 2019 quarter.
In the third quarter, Netflix said it expects to grow by 7 million paid memberships (0.8 million in the US and 6.2 million internationally) compared to the addition of 6.1 million subscribers in the year-ago period.
While Netflix plays in the premium content streaming space, it competes with the likes of Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar and even YouTube, along with other local players in the Indian market.
The competition in the video-on-demand space has intensified, especially after the launch of Reliance Jio's services as data tariffs have come down drastically in the country.
Players like Yupp TV, Hungama and ALTBalaji are actively expanding their library with original programming to tap into the Indian market.
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