07 April 2019, India:
Netflix has launched weekly plans in India. The weekly plans starts from ₹65/week. Netflix was testing special plans for mobile users last month.
The ₹65/week plan is for mobile and tablet users, laptop and TV users won’t be able to use it. Also, the HD option is not available in this package. And users will be able to views videos on 1 screen at a time.
Last month, Netflix had indicated that they will launch plans for mobile users which will cost less than other plans. The company was testing a ₹250/month for mobile users.
The company has also launched the weekly version of Basic, Standard and Premium plans.
The Basic weekly package costs ₹125/week, this plan will work for mobile & tablets as well as laptop & TV. However, similar to monthly version, HD option is not available in this package, and users can watch videos on 1 screen at a time.
The Standard weekly plans costs ₹165/week. HD option is available in this plan and users can watch videos on 2 screens at the same time.
The Premium weekly plan costs ₹200/week. Ultra-HD option is also available in this package and users can watch videos on 4 screens at same time.
Recently, the OTT competition in India has become tough. Google launched YouTube Premium and Hotstar launched Hotstar VIP plan.
Netflix is considered the most costly option in India by many users. It’s competitor Amazon Prime offers monthly plan at ₹129/month and annual plan at ₹999/month.
Amazon Prime package includes access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime delivery, Amazon Prime Music and Kindle (app). Prime users get benefits on Amazon’s Audible service also.
Hotstar Premium monthly plan is of ₹199/month and annual plan is of ₹999/year. The new Hotstar VIP plan is of ₹365/year (which includes access to Hotstar Exclusive and Live sports).
Sony LIV Premium monthly plan is of ₹99/month and the yearly plan is of ₹499/year.
ZEE5 offers it’s monthly plan at ₹99/month and annual plan at ₹999/year. Users can watch videos on 5 devices at a time.
The newly launched YouTube Premium’s monthly plan is of ₹129/month which includes access to YouTube Originals and YouTube Music Premium.
ALT Balaji’s annual plan starts from ₹300/year. Users can watch videos on 5 devices simultaneously.
HOOQ’s monthly plan starts from ₹99/month.
EROS NOW’s monthly plans starts from ₹49/month and yearly plans starts from ₹470/year. EROS NOW also offers some extra discount which further brings the prices down.
Spuul’s offers it’s monthly plan at ₹99/year and annual plans at ₹999/year. Users can watch content while it is being downloaded on this app.
Then there are some other apps like JioCinema and Airtel TV which offers some contents of ALT Balaji, ZEE5, Eros Now.
The Indian space seems to be crowded. Compared to other services, Netflix might seems expensive.
Netflix has the advantage of it’s big content catalogue, while Hotstar and Sony LIV offers access to live sports. Amazon Prime offers access to it’s other services which includes it’s Music, Prime delivery services.
Netflix’s new plans targets mobile audience. It will be interesting to see the result of Netflix’s new strategy.
(Image – Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar, Sony LIV, Zee5, YouTube, ALT Balaji, HOOQ, EROS NOW, Spuul)
