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Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

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Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Hotstar has been killing it. They have the massive advantage of streaming live sports, especially IPL and other cricket matches. But is there anyway to cast your mobile streaming videos from such apps on TV? I tried raspicast but it only works for YouTube not for any other app like Zee5, or hotstar or Amazon prime video. Is there anyway to make it work on TV? Even if it requires rooting android device or smth.

Chromecast and Firestick work with literally all the streaming services that we have available in India

But is that the only alternative? Why is it not possible to do it with the plain old hardware like raspberry pi?

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#42
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

480p isn't that bad, but then it depends upon what your used too. But way better than 640x480 resolution that many grew up with. India consumers are really price savvy and look for value for money more than most people I know and with that, not as easily hooked into the fashion whims of society. Though that may well change as the average income rises. I had a look at the best selling phones in India and https://www.g…

To add a counterpoint - think about a much bigger whale - Youtube - automatically upscales to 1080p when network and devices supports it. And Youtube in India is much much bigger over Hotstar and all other streaming providers. 80% of internet users of India use YouTube https://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/youtube-india-penetra... . You can see that people know their 1080p when they see it.

1080p Youtube is ~8Mbps and will go through the entire 1GB Jio daily data cap in 15-20 minutes.

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#43

"Indian consumer market remains value-conscious" - this is the most important point here. But 200rs per month too seems very expensive. I'm not sure how this will play out. Let's see. Hotstar has been killing it. They have the massive advantage of streaming live sports, especially IPL and other cricket matches. I think Netflix will become the next Apple in India. They gotta think like an Indian company and not as an…

>Hotstar has been killing it. They have the massive advantage of streaming live sports, especially IPL and other cricket matches. But is there anyway to cast your mobile streaming videos from such apps on TV? I tried raspicast but it only works for YouTube not for any other app like Zee5, or hotstar or Amazon prime video. Is there anyway to make it work on TV? Even if it requires rooting android device or smth.

I have an Android TV with hotstar insalled. So I didnt try any of this. Casting works if you have chromecast installed in the TV by default or if you had purchased separately.

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#44
post #3

Since the rise of Reliance Jio, Two things happened: 1. Sales of Budget 4G Phone. 2. Internet Content Consumption on Phone With that, This is a super-smart move from Netflix to fight Hotstar-like Indian Soap-Opera packed Streaming Services. In fact, Indians were massively watching Netflix already - but using someone else's Account - which is a very common way of saving money. Now this is Rs. 199 is probably going to…

hope to see those prices also in Europe

Id be interested to know if the downvoters think you're morally wrong, or whether they think its just never going to happen.

I'm reminded of a court case in the UK between Tesco and Levis. Tesco were importing Levis from the US where they retailed and presumably wholesaled for much less than in Europe, but were forced to stop distribution due to trademark rules. I wonder if you could avoid that by reselling debranded Netflix, I'd guess you'd fall foul of a load of other laws doing that though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1261829.stm

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#45

"Indian consumer market remains value-conscious" - this is the most important point here. But 200rs per month too seems very expensive. I'm not sure how this will play out. Let's see. Hotstar has been killing it. They have the massive advantage of streaming live sports, especially IPL and other cricket matches. I think Netflix will become the next Apple in India. They gotta think like an Indian company and not as an…

Not sure they are killing it unless they make more from online subscription than cable. Lots of my friends and I have unsubscribed from cable and brought Hotstar subscription. So now they have to support multiple channels (online/cable) for a disjoint subscriber base. And it is only a matter of time when Netflixes, Facebooks and Amazons start bidding for live sports in India as well [1] [1] https://www.bbc.com/sport/…

They are the leaders in this domain, thats what I meant by killing it Capturing customer base is the first step in any new venture's plans right? Not sure how they've planned their strategy but they streamed 25million concurrent connections during the super over in CWC. If the big ones start bidding then we'll see how it goes. But for now, star is way ahead. Also 300million users when the country is making its transformation to fully mobile and VOD is massive!

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chromecast and Firestick work with literally all the streaming services that we have available in India

But is that the only alternative? Why is it not possible to do it with the plain old hardware like raspberry pi?

Maybe because Raspberry pi is not a mass market hardware. Also how many in that small population are using it to watch streaming videos?

Raspberry pi is for hardware enthusiasts and not for end consumers. Pi 3b costs 3000Rs. A Nokia 1 phone(android) costs 4000Rs. What are people gonna buy in these two?

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#47

Netflix should work out partnerships with Internet and Telecom Providers to get this working at a massive volume. If Netflix can club their billing, may not be necessary monthly, along with the likes of Jio/Airtel Recharge billings, it will be an easy access to the target subscribers they are looking for. For the majority of Indian masses that this is intended for, it is not just the pricing but the payment method is…

Jio already has JioTV (with 600+ channels) which is free with Jio recharge. I don't think Jio would be comfortable bringing on what would essentially be a competitor for its services and give it a cut when it already has a free offering.

Airtel also has Airtel TV but offers one year of free Amazon Prime membership. There might some overlap between TV channels and content that Amazon/Netflix provide but both can co-exist and infact might be a competitive offering.

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#48
post #25
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, I think the government guaranteed wage is only 100rs per day if doing roadwork or similar. (Not sure the correct term). I believe in the Kolkata superb area, many people with a bachelors or equivalent only make $60-80 usd a month. (4000-5500rs) Of course, there are many many many people who make much more. If I think of what it costs to eat out in the US, and what it costs to eat out in India... 200rs is pro…

Where are you quoting these figures from? The minimum wage is considerably higher than Rs. 100 per day in most parts of India. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_Wages_Act_1948 Rs. 200 is not a big amount. Of course, the real comparison will be with respect to the cable TV rate, and the Netflix rate might not be low enough to be a better option.

>Rs. 200 is not a big amount. sorry thats really ignorant. It is not a big amount for the privileged people.

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#49
Still will be difficult for them to catch up, with Amazon prime working out to be rs85 per month, and hotstar having a massive multilingual catalogue+live sports including most cricket and EPL, Netflix limited catalogue is not exactly value at rs 199.

Only they do have some robust infrastructure like Amazon, hotstar service seems somewhat struggling under the load of millions of people watching at prime times.

Re: Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.80) mobile-only monthly plan in India

#50

It seems that Techcrunch's CMS cannot (perhaps) handle Unicode headlines: Rs = ₹ * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee_sign

Techcrunch uses WordPress, which definitely handles '₹' just fine in titles and URLs, especially since WordPress is by far the #1 CMS used in India[1].

[1] https://trends.builtwith.com/cms/country/India

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