After many US companies have found success in India, it appears to be the turn of Netflix. The video streaming company is reported to be not only doubling its head count in the country, but has gone in for hiring a huge 150,000 square feet of office space in Mumbai’s upmarket Bandra-Kurla complex. Sources claim the space has been leased for a nine-year period at an annual rent of $6.8 million. This is a clear sign the company has long-term plans for its business for India. This office would serve as its headquarters in India. Netflix would shift out of the much smaller space it is currently occupying in the same complex. Running into two floors, the company may bring in all its functions in one place.
This information follows an earlier report that India happens to be the third largest market for Netflix after the US and Brazil.
In terms of its market strategy, Netflix has resisted the temptation to lower its prices, like Amazon Prime did, for example. Amazon too had introduced an introductory offer of Rs 499 per year as the subscription for the first year and then raised it to Rs 999. Amazon has a monthly subscription plan, while Netflix charges a much higher tariff in comparison. The company has said it has no plans to offer any lower tariff and that Indian customers are mature enough to accept their tariffs.
There have been some odd controversies on the type of content being aired on the Netflix channel, particularly the programmes produced locally. And now, in a new initiative, Netflix has joined rival players Hotstar and Reliance Jio, in signing a voluntary censorship code.
Netflix’ move to take the long-term view of the Indian market might have also been spurred on by a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that India would be one of the top markets in the world for online video.