Netflix India: The Battle of Trials and Expectations

Abstract

Netflix launched its services in India on January 6, 2016, to gain 100 million subscribers. The journey of Netflix was a mix of a few opportunities and multiple challenges. India had a vast subscriber base, and 4G internet services were unfolded at a nominal price by Reliance Jio in September 2016 to increase the subscriber base further. However, OTT players offered regional content at a meager price. Even after unrolling 4G internet services, the rural hinterland’s network availability was poor. Few OTT provided content at a low cost with ad-based revenue and gave a run to Netflix India. Restricted password sharing across devices was also a constraint in the business journey of Netflix. From 2016 to 2022, Netflix followed every bit of action to penetrate the Indian customer subscription base but could not reach the desired milestone. What should Netflix do to tap the opportunities of a perspective market like India? What business framework must Netflix follow to differentiate itself from other OTT players? “Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global internet TV network. With this launch, consumers around the world from Singapore to St. Petersburg, from San Francisco to Sao Paulo will be able to enjoy TV shows and movies simultaneously with no more waiting. With the help of the internet, we are putting power in consumers’ hands to watch whenever, wherever, and on whatever device.”2 The news was announced on January 6, 2016, by the co-founder and chief executive officer of Netflix. Post this announcement, Netflix made its online streaming services available in 130 countries, including India, which was one of the budding digital markets of the world. Netflix provided video streaming services like feature films, documentaries, biopics, docueries, web series, and T.V. shows in multiple languages and genres. During a prominent event held in India, Netflix targeted 100 million subscribers in the Indian sub-continent. However, India was not a smooth ride for the company, due to several constraints such as poor connectivity of the Internet, varied linguistic landscapes, and tough competition from other Over the Top (OTT) players like Disney, Hotstar, and Direct to Home (DTH). Compared to other OTT players who provided services at affordable prices and content in regional Indian languages, Netflix was rated high on the price spectrum and slightly foreign in terms of content. Although Netflix lost 200,000 global subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 still it targeted to produce 50% of original content from the current 37% in India by 2025. Netflix did every experiment and altered its business strategies with changing times such as including shows of different genres such as comedy shows, period movies, drama, etc. It slashed away prices, offered content in regional languages, clamped down sharing of passwords, and experimented with a premium to ad-led revenue model, yet the Indian market was going tough. Although this market offered tremendous opportunities, it was a gamble for Netflix to overhaul its business strategy. Should Netflix rework its business model to achieve its targeted customer subscription base? What differentiation strategy could Netflix adopt to have a cutting edge above its competitors? What value proposition must Netflix offer to acquire and satisfy its customer base? Should Netflix continue experimenting in the Indian market although it was not economical to do so?