Continuing with its ongoing cheaper subscriptions’ bet on emerging markets, Netflix is now testing a $4 (approximate value post conversion) monthly subscription plan in Malaysia. The video-streaming giant said the same yesterday but did not give out an additional details on which other markets will see a test run of the same.
The new plan under trial in Malaysia will cost just 17 Malaysian ringgit ($4.05) a month, compared to its Basic plan which costs 33 ringgit ($7.87).
However, it is yet to be seen if India too is on the radar for such a cheaper tier. A Bloomberg report mentions, that even though Chief Executive Reed Hastings on Friday dismissed speculation that the streaming video company would cut prices for the hotly competitive India market but other officials have suggested it could trial cheaper plans in small markets.
We are testing to understand consumer interest in a mobile-only plan in some countries.
Netflix said in an emailed response to Reuters.
Netflix has been pushing at its innovation engine for quite some time now, in a bid to replicate its success in the western markets, here in India. India in itself becomes a huge market opportunity for a company like Netflix, considering the country’s humongous data consumption numbers, availability of free/minimally-charged data plans courtesy Jio among other relevant factors.
The company has been coming out with newer, original shows to attract Indian audience to its platforms. These new roll-outs have been by and large successful, most notable of them being the recently concluded Sacred Games. The company is has already announced a prequel to the globally acclaimed, Bahubali movie franchise as well. The announcement came along with the launch of 4 new shows, other than the prequel.
