OTT player Netflix appears to have made a marginal net profit of ₹5.1 crore on a turnover of ₹466.70 crore for the financial year ended Mach 31, 2019. There has been a huge spike in the turnover with a 700% jump. The revenue for the previous year was just ₹58 crore. Observers attribute this increase in revenue to Netflix introducing a lot of Indian content into its offerings and launching an aggressive promotional campaign. The financial figures have been sourced from the company’s filings with the Registrar of Companies.
Netflix has tied up with Airtel where the telecom and broadband subscribers get free Netflix subscriptions above a certain monthly tariff plan. The free subscription is for three months and many may start paying to continue with the subscription after the 3-month free period.
The other key step it took was to create a mobile-only subscription plan for ₹199 which appears to have worked very well. The normal PC/TV subscription costs ₹500 per month, considered a little steep by Indian standards.
The company is yet to put out any official statement on this. The OTT market in India is perceived to be humongous with the scope for around 500 million online or connected video viewers. Low cost smartphones and lower cost data plans have ensured that this number is growing from around 300 million now. Netflix is estimated to be having a subscription base of around 1-1.2 million. This is primarily due to the high prices it charges of ₹500 per month for a single viewership. If it has to be shared, then the rates go up.
Other players charge much less; Hotstar, supposed to be the leader among the pack charges just ₹365 for a VIP membership. There is a Premium membership too @₹999. These are rates for the whole year. Amazon Prime Video too charges ₹999 for one year and incidentally, Amazon Prime membership too comes free to the Airtel subscribers for one year.
Now Apple TV+ has entered the scene at ₹99 per month and Disney+ is to launch this month. Netflix will definitely find the heat from the competition forcing it to rework its plans.
In the India-focused content, Netflix has roped in some of the biggest names in Bollywood, including Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Karan Johar, via their production houses.