Netflix is testing long-term subscription plans in India 

Netflix is taking India very seriously. Why else would a company that’s always been reluctant to lower prices, introduce a cheaper mobile-only subscription plan that’s ‘specifically’ made for India. Days after rolling out its ‘bold’ new Rs 199 made for India mobile-only plan, Netflix has started testing yet another subscription model in the country that may allow subscribers to get its services at more affordable prices. 

Netflix has started toying around with long-term subscription plans in India with up to 12-month validity. Netflix is also testing relatively shorter 3-month and 6-month subscription plans in India. If implemented, these plans may save subscribers anywhere between 20 per cent to 50 per cent depending on the plan they opt for. Netflix currently has no such subscription plans anywhere else in the world. 

“We believe that our members may value the flexibility that comes from being able to pay for a few months at once. As always, this is a test and we will only introduce it more broadly if people find it useful" a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement given out to Republic World. 

A basic Netflix plan starts at Rs 500 a month in India, which is relatively a lot more expensive than counterparts from Amazon (Rs 999 a year) and Hotstar (Rs 365 a year). While a Rs 199 mobile-only plan does help break the ‘affordability’ barrier to some extent, long-term plans sound like a no-brainer to help boost Netflix’s subscriber base. It’s surprising why Netflix didn’t start this earlier. 

Being a test or beta release, there are a couple of things that you need to know. It is important to understand that Netflix hasn’t officially launched any long-term subscription plans in India yet. Netflix, in fact, may never launch them at all in India – Netflix has gone on record to say it tries more than 400 different tests a year, and not each one gets an official release. Secondly, not all Netflix users in India will be able to access these beta plans – and not everyone will be able to access them simultaneously. 

There are over 300 million mobile broadband users in India and each one of them is a potential subscriber. And Netflix wants to be their primary source of entertainment. But it can’t do that without an affordable subscription plan. Looks like the Rs 199 plan was just the start, there’s a lot more to look forward to in the future. That’s true about Netflix content being produced locally as well. The company has already announced that it’s set to spend Rs 3,000 crore on content programming in India in 2019-2020.         

Also Read:  Decoding Netflix’s ‘bold’ New Rs 199 Made For India Mobile-only Subscription Plan