Netflix Finally Becomes Affordable For Indians; Launches The Cheapest Mobile-Only Plan

In the constantly rising market of the digital world, if there is one hindrance in the whole scenario then that is the not-so-affordable prices of some of the streaming services.

India is still a market where the idea of watching paid content is gradually making a mark and two services have understood that and made their plans accordingly cheap and those are Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar. These services have made sure that they keep their plans affordable and the streaming giant, Netflix didn't do that yet.

Yet, as we called it. In an attempt to compete with them, Netflix launched its first-ever mobile-only plan in India is an event today in New Delhi. The plan costs $2.90 (199 rupees) per month, less than the $3.63 suggested when Netflix was testing out the plan back in March. 

"Our members in India watch more on their mobiles than members anywhere else in the world —  and they love to download our shows and films," said Netflix director, product innovation, Ajay Arora. "We believe this new plan will make Netflix even more accessible and better suit people who like to watch on their smartphones and tablets — both on the go and at home."

When asked by THR if this plan would also become available in other countries, Arora said, "India is the first country anywhere in the world where we have launched a mobile-only plan."

The mobile-only plan is the fourth option in India from Netflix, which offers its basic service at $7.27 (500 rupees) going up to $11.5 (799 rupees) per month for its premium service.

Even with its reduced plan at $2.90 per month, Netflix is still expensive compared to Disney's Indian OTT service Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video. Both services are offered at an annual plan of $14.50 (1,000 rupees) or about $1.20 per month.

It is being said that is Netflix's response to a highly price-sensitive market like India comes in light of how Hotstar continues its blistering growth since the service launched in 2015. According to Media Partners Asia, Hotstar has grown to become the second-biggest video service in India by revenue, with a 23 percent market share, trailing only YouTube but decisively topping Netflix's 14 percent slice of the market and Amazon's 6 percent.