Netflix slashes subscription prices in 116 countries after success of low-cost plan in India

Entertainment OTT player Netflix has cut subscription prices in 116 countries following the success of its business model in India, the company announced on Wednesday.

Netflix saw 30% growth in customer engagement and 24% year-over-year revenue growth in India after launching a low-cost subscription plan in the country in 2021.

The company had for the first time reduced subscription prices by a range of 20-60% to adapt to the Indian market and deepen its penetration.

“These cuts – combined with an improved listing – have helped increase engagement in India by almost 30% year-over-year, while F/X (forex) neutral revenue growth in 2022 will accelerated to 24% (from 19% in 2021). Learning from this success, we reduced prices in 116 additional countries in the first quarter,” Netflix said in its March 2023 quarterly earnings report.

Countries where the over-the-top (OTT) player reduced the price contributed less than 5% of its total revenue in fiscal year 2022.

“We believe increased adoption in these markets will help maximize our longer-term revenue,” the company said.

Netflix’s worldwide net income decreased by around 18% to $1,305 million (around Rs 107 crore) in the quarter ending March 2023, from $1,597 million (around Rs 131 crore). rupees) at the same period a year ago.

Netflix’s revenue, however, rose 3.7% to $8,162 million (approx. Rs.671 crore) in the quarter under review, from $7,868 million (approx. Rs.647 crore) in the quarter. March 2022.

The company’s paid memberships overall grew 4.9% year-over-year to 232.5 million.

Netflix expects its net income to decline by about 1.6% to $1,283 million (about Rs 101 crore) in the April to June quarter of 2023, while its revenue will increase by 3, 4% to $8,242 million (around Rs 677 crore).

The company, which was previously opposed to ads on its platform, has now launched ad-based plans with lower subscription prices than its original plans.

“Engagement on our level of ads is above our initial expectations and, as expected, we’ve seen very little change from our standard and premium plans,” Netflix said.

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