Netflix ready to launch in India
Netflix is expected to announce its India launch this week during the trade show CES 2016, setting the ground for fierce competitive action in the over-the-top (OTT) space.
Netflix is believed to have partnered an Indian telecom company that is offering 4G service. Speculation is that it could be either Airtel or Reliance Jio.
While Airtel has already launched 4G services, Reliance has rolled it out for its group employees. The commercial launch of Reliance Jio is expected in March–April.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings will deliver a keynote on 6 January in Las Vegas.
The company will also interact with Indian tech journalists at the CES 2016 event.
With aggressive expansion plans, Netflix is looking to operate in 200 countries by the end of 2016.
Earlier, Hastings had said that his company would produce a ‘Bollywood show, an anime show’ for non-US markets.
Netflix intends to spend $5 billion on content in 2016. The focus would be on original shows like ‘Master of None’.
Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said that the internet TV service provider would have 31 shows in 2016 compared to the 16 it had released in 2015.
It would also launch 10 movies, 10 stand-up specials, 12 documentaries and 30 children’s shows.
2015 was a breakthrough year for originals. Besides ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’, there was also ‘Bloodline’, ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Grace & Frankie’. Netflix has over 69 million subscribers in more than 60 countries.
It showcases more than 100 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Some of the popular OTT platforms operating in India are Hotstar, Ditto TV, Sony Liv and Eros Now. Singapore’s on-demand video provider Hooq recently hired Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor as the MD of its India operations.
It is offering its service at Rs 199 per month.
Read more at:
http://www.televisionpost.com/technology/netflix-ready-to-launch-in-india/
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