Reed Hastings Despondent over Netflix's Lack of Success in India; Says its "Frustrating"

Netflix over the years since its India launch in 2016 hasn’t seen much of a heightened success, which is "frustrating," co-founder, Reed Hastings remarked. He did however add that the firm is "certainly leaning in."

The global streaming giant, based in Los Gatos, California, that saw its stock plummet after announcing that it expects to add only 2.5 million new subscribers in the current quarter---the lowest for the first quarter in nearly a decade, added 2.6 million new paying subscribers in the Asia Pacific region in the last quarter (up from 2 million in the same quarter last fiscal), with exponential growth in both Japan and India.

Although Netflix has never officially publicized the subscribers count in India, market estimates place the figure between 4.3 million and 4.5 million, a number that matches Disney+Hotstar (near to 26 million) and Amazon Prime Video (over 17 million).

Its cheapest; most affordable mobile plan is priced at Rs 149, down from Rs 199 previously. Because a substantial portion of Indians watch information on mobile devices, the business offered a mobile-only plan in July 2019.

Its 'Basic' plan, which allows consumers to watch in SD quality on mobile phones, tablet, computer, or television screen, is now Rs 199 per month, down from 499 previously. The company's 'Premium' membership, which includes high definition (HD) content and capacity for two screens, has been reduced from Rs 649 to Rs 499 per month.

The most costly 'Premium' package on Netflix, which includes ultra-high-definition (Ultra HD) material and capacity for four screens, is now  Rs 649 per month, down from Rs 799 per month previously.

While Netflix anticipates a reduction in average income per subscriber, as a result of the price cuts, Greg Peters Netflix’s chief operating and Product believes the company will make up for it by adding more subscribers.

Hastings previously stated that India's pay TV pricing, which is roughly $3 per month per family, is quite eccentric. "Odd from the rest of the globe," he continued, "which has an influence on customer expectations."

During the October-December quarter, Netflix attracted 8.3 million new subscribers internationally, bringing its total paid subscribers to 222 million. It only added 18 million customers in 2021, down from 37 million the previous year.

People may be well aware of the fact that many of the series and movies on Netflix have yet to garner a good number of subscribers. Netflix's strategy is blamed on "throwing money at every problem," according to analysts.

In 2018, Hastings stated that the firm will invest Rs 2,000 crore in Indian content over the next two years, which is more than the combined programming budgets of the top four Hindi general entertainment networks--- Star Plus, Sony, Colors TV and Zee TV.