Netflix has launched in India a new discounted subscription that allows viewing only on smartphones and computers. Here's how much it costs
Once again Netflix chooses India to test a new inexpensive subscription to its streaming service: it's the "Mobile+" subscription, a slightly richer and slightly more expensive evolution of the "Mobile" subscription also launched in India exactly one year ago.
A Netflix spokesperson confirmed that the company wants to see if the public appreciates the new offer, which will only be made available to everyone if it's as successful as it should be. India, given the large numbers but also other very important cultural factors, is therefore confirmed as a pivotal market for Netflix that elsewhere, especially in the United States, already suffers a lot from the fierce competition of numerous competitors (such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and many others) that offer good services at lower prices. Given the features, however, it is unlikely that the Mobile and Mobile+ subscriptions will be brought to Western markets as well.
Neflix Mobile+: features and limitations
Netflix India's previous Mobile subscription, which still remains available, included a price of just $2.7 per month and the ability to use the streaming service only from mobile devices and only at 480p resolution. The new Mobile+ subscription, which is still in testing, costs $4.7 and offers HD resolution while adding the ability to use Netflix from computers as well, but not from TVs. Also available in India is the traditional Netflix subscription, which at a cost of $6.69 allows for HD resolution at most, and the $10.7 premium subscription that also offers 4K and the ability to use the service simultaneously from multiple devices.
Why India is important to Netflix
It is clear, then, that Netflix now has a full service offering designed specifically for the Indian market, which is considered strategic. First, for numbers, since India has 1.3 billion inhabitants. Then, for cultural issues, since Indians love cinema and it is in India that there is one of the largest film industries in the world: the mythical "Bollywood" that generates an annual turnover of about 3.5 billion dollars (about a third of the approximately 10 billion in Hollywood). Netflix, for this reason, has allocated as much as 420 million dollars for the production and distribution of content in and for India
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