US-based digital streaming firm Netflix has announced three major strategic partnerships in India- with Airtel, Videocon, and Vodafone. With offices in the US, Amsterdam, London, Singapore and Tokyo, it is also going to set up an office in Mumbai.
Netflix has about 94 million subscribers across the globe. Out of which 40 million are from outside the US. It is not available in China. However, in India, it is facing strong competion from rivals like Amazon prime, Hotstar and other services like these. It was launched in India in January last year.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, right now, is on his first visit to India. “We have a strong growth here , stronger than all the other Asian nations. We are investing heavily on content. The content has doubled over the last year and we expect it to double next year. We are also setting up a Mumbai office,” he said.
He also acknowledged the impact of Rilance Jio on the market of video streaming. “Viewing of our shows has gone up on the Jio network, and in fact on all of the networks. So we’re launching partnerships today with Airtel, Videocon, Vodafone and we’ll have more of these around the world,” said Hastings.
“India is one of the most important and vibrant countries in the world, and we are delighted to be teaming up with three of its leading companies to make it much easier for consumers to enjoy Netflix,” he said. “In the months and years to come, we look forward to bringing our Indian members more compelling stories from all over the world, and ever-improving viewing experience, and incredible joy.”
The Netflix app will be integrated into both Airtel DTH and Videocon D2H set-top boxes. So, viewers will be able to stream Netflix videos directly without having to use Dongles or Smart TVs. But still, to stream Netflix contents one must subscribe to it and the set-top box has to be connected to the internet through ethernet or Wi-Fi.
Netflix’s partnership with Vodafone is for payment integration. Vodafone customers will be abale to pay for their Netflix subscriptions through carrier billing via monthly bill or prepaid balance.
