NetFlix in India

Netflix, a popular video streaming service in US, is now available for a one-month trial and then you will have to pay  Rs 500 for a basic package. This article covers What is Netflix, Prices of Netflix in India, How to use Netflix, Does Netflix in India has all the US content, Is there Indian content on Netflix, about Netflix broadband and Data,How does Netflix compare to Cable and DTH like Tata Sky,Competition of Netflix in India.

What is Netflix?

Netflix is the world’s top video streaming service that allows users to watch content on screens ranging from a smartphones to a smart television. It works with a variety of other devices like PlayStation and Apple TV, letting users stream directly onto larger screen. Netflix is also the creator of a lot of original, made for the web content, much of which is now in high-resolution Ultra HD. Netflix launched its services in India and 129 other countries on 6 Jan 2016. With the launch, the popular TV and movie streaming service now covers most of the world except for China. Netflix and other video streaming services are technically called over-the-top (OTT) entity.

Prices of Netflix  in India

• Rs. 500 per month for access on 1 Single Device(SD) screen.  (though you may install and sign in to as many devices as you like).
• For Rs. 650 per month you can watch HD content on 2 screens at a time, ie  two people can watch different content on two devices simultaneously
• Rs. 800 per month will get you 4K content on up to 4 screens simultaneously,there can be four active devices on the same account.

You can signup for Netflix via its website or the Netflix apps on , Android, iOS, Windows, and other platforms.

Users can pay using PayPal and credit card only at the moment,  unless you are make a purchase via iOS or Android and the store already has your card details.

The first month is free for all users. An initial fee of Rs 70 ($1) is charged during signup to authenticate the card. You have the liberty to cancel subscription anytime within one month and will also send a reminder two days before the free trial expires before it decides to debit the subscription fee.

The India pricing is virtually identical to that in the US, where Netflix’s Internet video streaming subscription rates range from $7.99 (Rs. 530 approximately) per month for 1 SD screen to $11.99 (approximately Rs. 800 per month approximately) a month for 4 HD screens, including a free one-month trial.

Why has Netflix come to India?

Slowing growth in the United States has put pressure on Netflix to grow internationally. India, with over 300 million Internet users and a potential 1.2 billion plus that could come online in the next few years , is being seen as its next big growth market. Before 6 Jan 2016 announcement, Netflix was available in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and parts of Europe. On Jan 6 2016, Netflix launched its services 130 other countries including India, so now it covers most of the world except for China.

How to use Netflix ?

You can signup for Netflix via its website or the Netflix apps on , Android, iOS, Windows, and other platforms.. Steps to use Netflix are:

• Choose the plan, Basic(Rs 500), Standard (Rs 650) ,Premium (Rs 800). You can downgrade or upgrade at any time. Its free for a month only!
• Create your Netflix account
• Create User Profile. You can make up to four separate user profiles on one account and specify which account is for kids Each user will see a different home page and will get personalised recommendations.

• Choose three movies or shows. NetFlix then curates and recommends lists on similar lines.
• Choose the various device that you plan to access Netflix.

The user interface is simple. The top right corner shows the Browse option, under which content is divided into various categories and genres  such as TV shows, comedies Indian. the your list, new arrivals and a section,Ways to Watch, that shows various ways in which you can watch via Netflix . You can watch Netflix using Smart TVs, streaming media players, game consoles, smartphones, tablets and more.

As you move your cursor over a movie or show, it highlights it to view the one-liner description. You can watch it straightway or click that will take you to a page which gives more details. You can then view other details such as who is starring, genre and something called ‘this tv show is’. Which terms content as exciting, gritty and so on.

Netflix has said that it is not censoring any videos in India . But Netflix ensures that your kids don’t access content that you don’t want them to. While creating an account, it lets you mark a checkbox if a kid will be using an account. Each time the account marked as ‘Kid’ tries to access the account, it will directly take them to the Kids section with relevant content.

Does Netflix in India have all the US content?

There are around 550 movies and 200 TV series on NetFlix in India compared to the US catalog of over 4,000 titles(at time of writing). Most of Netflix’s has most of the popular TV shows, movies in its catalog and original content is coming, but some shows like House of Cards are missing, possibly because it is being aired on Zee Cafe.   Netflix has added some of the popular shows such as That 70s Show and Dexter. There’s a good selection of comedy shows as well and some rare stuff like Russel Peters Comics without Borders. Action,adventure and classic movie fans have choice of movies and the same goes for the classics. Games of Thrones is not available in Netflix as its HBO Classic. Of the ten most popular shows on Netflix in the US,give below, only three , Narcos, Atelier, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, were available on Netflix India

1. Narcos
2. Atelier
3. The Walking Dead
4. Je Suis Charlie
5. A Family Man
6. Big Sky
7. Sherlock
8. House of Cards
9. Breathe
10. Marvel’s Jessica Jones

Is there Indian content on Netflix?

For now Netflix has limited Indian content. It has only movies but no Indian TV shows. NetFlix has said that it is not censoring any videos in India as of now.  There are many popular Bollywood both old and new, such as Piku, Lootera,Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Maine Pyaar Kiya, Singh is Kinng, Hate Story.  There isn’t too much content in regional languages. They have few Gujarati, Punjabi and Marathi movies. This might change as Netflix expands its base in India and possibly partners with local content providers..

Netflix, Data and Broadband

You can make these changes by signing in on a computer. Head to ‘Your Account’ and select Playback Settings in Your Profile. There are four data usage settings: Low (300MB per hour), Medium (700MB per hour), HD (3GB per hour for HD and 7GB per hour for Ultra HD/4K) and Auto (the system auto adjusts for best quality).

Netflix runs on broadband and so the Netflix subscription fees that you spend on watching unlimited films is only part of the payout. Internet Speeds in India are good these days, but Netflix takes lot of bandwidth. It is recommended that you be in range of at least a 3 mbps connection. An HD stream can use up to 3GB of data per hour, while SD video can take anywhere between 300 and 700MB per hour. 4K Ultra HD streaming, if you have a fast enough connection to support that in the first place ,will set you back by 7GB per hour.

If you’re on a truly unlimited broadband plan with no fair usage policy, streaming is no problem, but if you have data limits on broadband or are using Netflix on your phone, then the video streaming can end up costing you a lot . If broadband usage for a two-hour movie costs Rs 40 on average, watching a dozen films, some of them being the long Bollywood ones, could set you back by around Rs 600. That makes your actual cost of the subscription upwards of Rs 1,000. Now that’s small  amount if you look at what you spend at the multiplex, but the cablewallah is far more economical.  It’s like running your car and petrol is the wallet-cleaner.

How does Netflix compare to Cable and DTH like Tata Sky

In India, cable ARPU (average revenue per user) is around Rs 200. At Rs 500 a month, Netflix’s pricing is at par with DTH players, who provide robust high-definition channel packages. A Tata Sky subscriber, for example, pays Rs 605 a month for the most expensive base pack (Rs 470), along with HD channels (which come at Rs 135 a month).

Competition of Netflix in India?

Netflix will compete in India with the likes of Star’s Hotstar, Singapore-based Spuul, Hungama, Eros Now, Muvizz, and many others.  From NDTV Our 5 Favourite TV and Movie Streaming Services in India 

• Hotstar: Star group’s app and website Hotstar, which is free, is great for watching live sports, but it lets you stream a wide range of TV shows and films as well. It has a fairly big collection of TV shows and films that you can watch for free on its website without signing up, and on your smartphone via its Android and iOS apps. Apart from English and Hindi, Hotstar has content in various Indian languages as well. website
• Hooq has a fairly big catalogue of films and TV shows, which even features Doordarshan classics such as Nukkad. Hooq’s UI is good. It has a free 14-day trial after which you will have to pay Rs. 199 per month. backed by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, Time Warner Inc and Sony Corp. Its website
• Muvizz aims to be a hub for independent films and you can see that in its catalogue. The service features more than just mainstream Bollywood films, highlighting some underrated gems such as Tahaan. It also features short films and documentaries, which makes it a little different from other services in India. Some films are free, and you can watch all the films for a fee of Rs. 300 per month. Muvizz website
• BigFlix – BigFlix is amongst the oldest video streaming services and that’s why they have a large collection of local content. Newer content is priced while some older stuff can be viewed for free. However, their International content is not up to the mark. Most paid movies are priced at just Rs 49 but you can opt for a monthly pack for unlimited viewing at Rs 249 per month.
• Wynk Movies – The app is a collaboration between Airtel and various streaming services include Hooq, Eros Now and Sony LIV. Due to multiple services, Wynk movies has a large collection of content available and even includes some movies that are exclusively free for Airtel users. For paid plans, you have to select from individual packages for Eros Now, Hooq, or Sony Liv and prices range between Rs 5 per day to Rs 199 per month.
• BoxTV –  BoxTV offers three subscription options: free, a trial pack for Rs 49 and a monthly subscription of Rs 199 per month. There is a dedicated section on free content that can be viewed even without signing up (but it has ads). For Rs 49, you can access the entire video catalogue without ads. They also have a dedicated section for TV series series across different genres. They have apps available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone devices as well as some Panasonic and Samsung smart TVs.
• Spuul was one of the first players to enter the video streaming business in India. Spuul does not have English language content, but it lets you watch some films for free without registration,. A subscription fee of Rs. 300 per month lets you access its entire catalogue on the website and apps. The free catalogue is pretty good to start with, and includes classic TV shows such as Fauji, Dekh Bhai Dekh, and Malgudi Days, and you will find plenty of recent Hindi films in the free catalogue as well. Spuul website

Streaming services are still at a nascent stage in India.  It is to be seen how Indians will react to Netflix and other streaming services such as Hungama,Spuul, Netflix has to offer more in terms of content . Will value for money Indians, who are used to torrent pay Rs 500 to 800.  Will you or Have you subscribed to Netflix? Do you think Netflix will work in India?Which is your favourite service for streaming films? Let us know via the comments.