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Tag: Netflix

  • Netflix sees 83% rise in price-related search after India-specific plan

    Netflix sees 83% rise in price-related search after India-specific plan

    MUMBAI: SEMrush, the online visibility management and content marketing SaaS Platform, recently conducted data analysis on three most trending media services in India – Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Tata Sky. The case study revealed amazingly interesting facts regarding the growth of traffic from different devices and an increase in the search volume. Netflix Subscription is the most searched keyword in the time duration from Jan 2018 to July 2019. After the announcement of Netflix’s new subscription plan for India, its price search volume increased swiftly by 83% between June 2019 and July 2019. Besides, Amazon Prime Subscription stands as the second most searched keyword with an average search volume of 6,878.9.

    On the other hand, Tata Sky’s app has the highest searched volume of 44,826 during the same time duration. Tata Sky has the smallest traffic volume, but it has shown a tremendous year-on-year growth counting to 293 per cent. Wherein, Netflix witnessed a 146 per cent growth in its traffic volume after Tata Sky. Interestingly, Amazon Prime enjoys the biggest traffic volume from India, but its year-on-year growth is merely 70 per cent.

    The desktop traffic to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in July was 11,138,893 and 13,593,504 respectively. Both the media services have grown by 36 per cent in July 2019 as compared to the previous month. Netflix shows the biggest growth of mobile traffic (15.6 per cent) between June 2019 and July 2019, after it announced its new subscription plan, however, Tata Sky and Amazon still are bigger in numbers of mobile device traffic counting to 7,537,672 and 12,290,142 respectively as compared to Netflix’s traffic count 6,244,056.

     “Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Tata Sky are the new age media services which are giving tough competition to each other. All three of these media services are significantly attracting Indian audiences for the subscription with interesting packages. The data revealed in the study is self-explanatory for their accelerating popularity amongst viewers. According to this case study by SEMrush, Indian audiences are inclining more towards Netflix’s subscription in last couple of months, all credits to its interesting subscription plan,” SEMrush international market Fernando Angulo said.

  • Facebook approaches broadcasters & streaming services for new TV chat device: Reports

    Facebook approaches broadcasters & streaming services for new TV chat device: Reports

    MUMBAI: Facebook has approached broadcasters and streaming services like Netflix, Disney, Hulu and HBO for a new TV chat device for making video calls from TVs. The platform is also planning to launch its own TV streaming service.

    According to a report in ‘The Information’, the Facebook TV chat device will use the same technology currently available in the company's video-calling 'Portal' devices. The platform is planning to launch an updated version of its video chat device 'Portal' later this year.

    Facebook's Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) vice president Andrew Bosworth has confirmed that the company has a lot more to unveil later this year related to Portal.

    The report also informed that the new device, code-named Catalina, will also come with a physical remote and a streaming video service similar to other television boxes like Apple TV.

    Portal was launched in November 2018. While the smaller device was priced at $199, the larger "Portal Plus" was made available for $349 with a 10-inch display and 15-inch display, respectively.

    The smart camera-enabled device is also powered by Amazon's voice assistant Alexa and comes with front cameras. Facebook Portal has a 10-inch display, while there is a 15-inch display on the Portal+. The devices offer hands-free voice control and allow users to start a video call simply by saying "Hey Portal". It uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to recognise people in the frame and follow them as they move throughout a room.

  • 13 reasons why returns on Netflix with season 3

    13 reasons why returns on Netflix with season 3

    MUMBAI: Eight months after preventing Tyler from committing an unthinkable act at Spring Fling, Clay, Tony, Jessica, Alex, Justin, and Zach find ways to shoulder the burden of the cover-up together while helping Tyler move toward recovery. But when the aftermath of a tumultuous Homecoming game culminates in the disappearance of a football player, and Clay finds himself under police scrutiny, it’s up to a shrewd outsider to steer the group through an investigation that threatens to lay bare everyone’s deepest secrets. The stakes are raised in this riveting third season of 13 Reasons Why, as the consequences of even the most well-intended actions can alter a life forever.

    Season 3 Cast: Dylan Minnette as Clay Jensen, Brandon Flynn as Justin Foley, Justin Prentice as Bryce Walker, Alisha Boe as Jessica Davis, Christian Navarro as Tony Padilla, Miles Heizer as Alex Standall, Devin Druid as Tyler Down, Ross Butler as Zach Dempsey, Timothy Granaderos as Montgomery de la Cruz, Anne Winters as Chloe, Steven Weber as Principle Bowen, Brenda Strong as Mrs. Walker, Amy Hargreaves as Mrs. Jensen and introducing Grace Saif as Ani. 

  • Netflix launches mobile plan for India at Rs 199/month

    Netflix launches mobile plan for India at Rs 199/month

    MUMBAI: Netflix has announced the launch of a new mobile plan for India. At INR 199 per month, members will be able to enjoy all of Netflix’s content—uninterrupted and without ads—in standard definition (SD) on one smartphone or tablet at a time. This is its fourth Indian plan, in addition to the existing basic, standard and premium plans.

    “Our members in India watch more on their mobiles than members anywhere else in the world-  and they love to download our shows and films. We believe this new plan will make Netflix even more accessible and better suit people who like to watch on their smartphones and tablets—both on the go and at home,” said Netflix director, product innovation Ajay Arora.

    According to a FICCI-EY 2019 report, Indians spend 30% of their phone time—and over 70% of their mobile data—on entertainment. Netflix is investing heavily in Indian films and series across all genres and for all generations, including much-loved hits like Sacred Games, Chopsticks and Mighty Little Bheem. Thirteen new films and nine new original series are already in the pipeline. 

    To sign up for the mobile plan:  

    1.   Download the Netflix app or visit the website www.netflix.com

    2.   Select the mobile plan for INR 199/month

    3.   Add account details and try the first month for free (for new members)

    In addition, to the introduction of a new mobile plan, it has adjusted prices for the three existing plans as follows:

    ·       Mobile – INR 199/month (new tier)

    ·       Basic – INR 499/month

    ·       Standard – INR 649/month

    ·       Premium – INR 799/month

    Netflix continues to improve the mobile experience with features like Smart Downloads, mobile previews, and sharing to social media. Most recently, it improved the Android app—by making the sign-up flow for new members and the app load more quickly on entry-level smartphones. 

  • Welcome to the continent // Netflix drops teaser trailer of the witcher at san diego international comic-con

    Welcome to the continent // Netflix drops teaser trailer of the witcher at san diego international comic-con

    MUMBAI: Fans in Hall H were treated to the first look at the highly anticipated new series The Witcher  at San Diego Comic Con 2019 on Friday, July 19 when star Henry Cavill previewed the teaser trailer for the room. Yvette Nicole Brown (“Community,” “Mom”) moderated the panel discussion with showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and cast members Cavill (Geralt of Rivia), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) and Freya Allan (Ciri).

  • Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on global opportunity, subscriber addition and competition

    Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on global opportunity, subscriber addition and competition

    MUMBAI: With Disney all set to enter the direct-to-consumer business with its streaming app, Netflix missing its subscriber addition forecast globally along with losing subscribers in the domestic market is likely to be trouble. Although stocks of the FANG company stumbled as an aftermath of the Q2 result, Netflix is confident of getting back on track in the next quarter. Talking to investors in an earnings call after the Q2 result, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings also showed confidence in global subscriber additions, upcoming competition and the positive impact of streaming war.

    Here are the edited excerpts:

    Global opportunity:

    Well, we do wonder, in the fullness of time, can we be as big as YouTube? YouTube is 7x larger than us roughly in viewing hours, and a phenomenal service. Of course, it's free. So the real question is can we produce enough content that people are willing to pay for? If you look at benchmarks, it's about 700 million households that pay for television outside of China, so that would be kind of the equivalent of the US, 100 million, so that's one established market.

    Now, do we have enough content in each of those countries? Most of that is local content that gets consumed. But the internet is capable of some very large customer bases, as you, I'm sure, know well. So we'll just take it year-by-year and try to have our net adds continue to grow. We still think our net adds this year will be larger than last year. We'll keep pushing on that. And what we want to do is just grow the net adds every year and then the future takes care of itself.

    Streaming War:

    It's never been a better world for talent. They get to bid themselves off between us, Disney, Amazon, etc. So there's a real battle for who will pay for content around the world, but it's not a zero-sum competition. I think everybody gets that people will subscribe to multiple shows. Add wage — most Netflix employees are HBO subscribers. We love the content they do and that spurs us to want to be even better. So it's a great competition that helps grow the industry. And the advantage of having something catchy like streaming wars is it draws more attention. And because of that, people, consumers shift more quickly from linear TV to the streaming TV.

    Product partnerships for Stranger Things:

    Well, we're monetising it today in more membership growth. The focus is to get more people excited about Stranger Things. So they join Netflix. They tell their friends about it. So this year, we'll add about $5 billion of incremental subscription revenue, which is almost all of the gross margin, and that's faster than any entertainment company has grown in the history of the world. So what we want to do is keep that engine going, keep that subscriber engine going and not get distracted with alternative revenue sources which just don't add up when you're growing $5 billion a year. So the core focus is to create all these merchandising opportunities, tie-ins, touch points so that you feel the Stranger Things energy so that more people join. So together, as we do monetise all that, it's just we're monetising it through our giant engine rather than through little sidecar vehicles.

  • Netflix confirms Q3 roll-out of lower-priced mobile-screen plan for India

    Netflix confirms Q3 roll-out of lower-priced mobile-screen plan for India

    MUMBAI: Finally taking note of the price-sensitive Indian market, streaming giant Netflix has decided to roll out a lower-priced mobile screen plan in India. The streaming giant sees the new plan, which will launch in Q3, as an effective measure to expand its subscriber base in India. Earlier, the streamer had highlighted the need to lower prices for greater accessibility and more subscribers after its Q1 results.

    “After several months of testing, we’ve decided to roll out a lower-priced mobile-screen plan in India to complement our existing plans. We believe this plan, which will launch in Q3, will be an effective way to introduce a larger number of people in India to Netflix and to further expand our business in a market where Pay TV ARPU is low (below $5). We will continue to learn more after launch of this plan,” the company said in its letter to shareholders.

    It was reported a few months ago that the streaming giant was experimenting with a mobile only monthly plan priced at Rs 250 and weekly plan priced at Rs 65. It was reported that the mobile-only plans would allow users to access the platform on mobile phone and tablet but only on one screen at a time. However, the company has not revealed any price point yet.

    The move comes at a time when the Indian over-the-top (OTT) scene is witnessing a fierce battle among both international and home grown players to gain a stronger foothold in the market. All the OTT platforms are taking several steps including special subscription packages, telco bundling and sachets to attract more subscribers. Despite significant investment in high-quality content like Scared Games, Netflix has not yet been able to be break into the top-three OTT platforms list in India.

    While Hotstar is still leading the race, international rival Amazon Prime Video is also way ahead of Netflix. Moreover, Indian consumers are heavily inclined to consume content on small screens given the affordability of smart phones and cheaper mobile broadband data.

    “We're quite certain that we should do something to find a price tier that's lower than the existing lowest price tier to broaden that accessibility. We think that they'll be important to adding members in India. We'll see what the right mix of features is, because there is a bit of a magic to try and get the right set of features at the right price point in a way that the consumer can relate to, right, it has to be sort of natural and intuitive to the consumer that this is what they're getting. So we've got more work to go do there, but it's something we're highly focused on,” Netflix chief product officer Greg Peters said in an earnings call after the Q1 result. Peters also said mobile-only plans can be a great example to get subscriber economy right.

    Explaining the relevance of the move, Peters said in an earnings call after Q2 results that there is an opportunity to broaden the access to the service, especially at a time when the company is expanding content offering. He also added that they are seeing a growth in engagement. 

    "So that's the primary motivator for that move, so we can broaden the audience that can love that content, enjoy that content that Ted's team is making. And that's great because like when we launched Sacred Games season 2, when you have a bigger audience for it, that means we can create more social buzz and more excitement about that show. So we're doing that. We're also working on the partnerships we have in the market because we think there are specific opportunities to improve accessibility via those partnerships as well," he added.

    While the streaming giant has very recently announced five new originals for India, it is particularly excited about Baahubali. At a time when Netflix is increasing its focus on original films, this will be the first move into a really large scale Indian original film. 

    "It's based on a film that was hugely popularly a year ago and this is a series prequel, sequel model that way things going to be incredibly popular in India and we've been seeing steady, nice steady increases and engagement with our Indian viewers that we think we can keep billing on. Growth in that country is a marathon. So we're, in it for the long haul and we're seeing nice steady progress," Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos commented. 

  • Netflix’s first domestic subscriber loss in 8 years; misses international addition estimate

    Netflix’s first domestic subscriber loss in 8 years; misses international addition estimate

    MUMBAI: The streaming giant Netflix witnessed domestic subscriber loss for the first time in the last eight years since it separated its DVD mail-order system and streaming platform. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2019, Netflix also added nearly 2 million fewer international customers than expected.

    In contrast to the projected 5 million addition in international subscribers, Netflix only gained 2.7 million subscribers. On the other hand, the company also lost more than 100,000 subscribers in the US. The company in its letter to shareholders said that Q2’s content slate drove less growth in paid net adds than it anticipated. Netflix added that the missed forecast was more noticed in the regions where prices were hiked. However, the company also denied any impact of the increased competition on the Q2 results.

    “Additionally, Q1, there may have been more pull-forward effect than we realised. In prior quarters with over-forecasts, we’ve found that the underlying long-term growth was not affected and staying focused on the fundamentals of our business served us well,” the company said in a letter to its shareholders.

    The streaming platform has started the third quarter with a returning season of its hit show Stranger Things while the final season of another iconic show Orange is the New Black will be released in the quarter. The company expects the subscriber growth to return to more typical growth in Q3, and said it is seeing that in these early weeks of Q3. It also forecast Q3 global paid net adds of 7 million with 0.8 million in the US and 6.2 million internationally.

    However, Netflix posted revenue of $4.92 billion, in-line with Wall Street’s $4.93 billion estimate, and earnings of 60 cents per share beating analyst consensus estimates of EPS 56 cents. “Much of our domestic, and eventually global, Disney catalog, as well as Friends, The Office, and some other licensed content will wind down over the coming years, freeing up budget for more original content,” the company added.

    The company also highlighted building out its licensing and brand partnerships effort, which is optimising for fan and viewer engagement over revenue maximisation. It also noted during the launch of Stranger Things season 3, the platform partnered with best-in-class brands like Coke, Nike, Burger King, and Baskin Robbins to build deep connections with the fans.

    More importantly, it announced a very important move in its important international market India in front of the product initiative. “After several months of testing, we’ve decided to roll out a lower-priced mobile-screen plan in India to complement our existing plans. We believe this plan, which will launch in Q3, will be an effective way to introduce a larger number of people in India to Netflix and to further expand our business in a market where Pay TV ARPU is low (below $5). We will continue to learn more after launch of this plan,” the company said.

  • Hotstar dominates OTT reach statistics

    Hotstar dominates OTT reach statistics

    MUMBAI: Star India-led Hotstar is the chart leader of the Indian OTT market. According to a report by Data Intelligence & Management Platform KalaGato, Hotstar has the highest 'Reach by Install' of 45.88 per cent as of March 2019.

    As per the report, Hotstar leads the reach followed by newest entrant Times Internet-led  MX Player with 41.4 per cent 'Reach by Install'. Moreover, the former also leads the chart in terms of market share by install with 23.8 per cent.

    “Combined with quality content, Hotstar’s investment in cricket streaming rights has helped it garner tremendous market share,” KalaGato chief business officer Aman Kumar said. “MX Player was originally a popular video player app that Times Internet bought in early 2018 and turned into an online streaming platform. This allowed it to enter the market with a large download base that had already installed the app,” he added.

    Hotstar, which till last year relied on sports, catch-up content and films, decided to take a leap into content early this year with a new vertical called “Hotstar Specials” to offer premium shows. While it already has a strong foothold in the advertising-led business model, Hotstar Specials has been launched to scale up subscription revenue.

    Source: Data from KalaGato

    Reliance Jio’s OTT service app Jio TV has increased its reach by install gradually since last year and is now at 34.08 per cent. Both international players Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have increased their reach significantly. While the former stood with 17.06 per cent , the latter stood with 10.37 per cent. Netflix has already announced five new original series on Tuesday. Its international rival Amazon Prime Video has recently unveiled the trailer of its popular series Comicstaan along with premiering a number of titles both in Hindi and regional languages. 

    According to a report by global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), India’s video streaming industry is all set to grow at a CAGR of 21.82 per cent to reach Rs 11,977 crore by 2023. It added that the OTT video industry will record the highest growth rate among all segments and drive evolution over the next four years in the overall media and entertainment industry.

  • Netflix announces five new original series across a variety of genres

    Netflix announces five new original series across a variety of genres

    MUMBAI: Netflix today announced five new original series across a variety of genres including Young Adult, drama, thriller, horror and comedy. With deadly zombies, scary gangsters and daring friends, these incredibly diverse Indian stories are for mainstream audiences in India and around the world. 

    Bela Bajaria, VP, International Originals, Netflix, said, “India is home to some of the world’s greatest stories. It's been thrilling to watch these amazing storytellers embrace the artistic freedom possible at Netflix to create entertaining stories. Audiences everywhere will love these five inventive series set in stories of horror, drama and comedy.”

    Continuing Netflix’s investment in Indian content and long-term commitment to the Indian creative community, the five series will be developed in collaboration with leading Indian studios from Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Anushka Sharma and Karnesh Sharma’s Clean Slate Films to Mutant Films. 

    Presenting the Netflix slate of upcoming series over the next year:

    Bombay Begums: In contemporary urban India, five women, across generations, wrestle with desire, ethics, personal crises and vulnerabilities to own their ambition. As glass ceilings are shattered and hearts are broken, difficult choices have to be made. And as each woman strives to find her own truth, they find in each other an unexpected understanding and the sliver of a bond. Bombay Begums is created, written and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and executive produced by Chernin Entertainment and EndemolShine India. 

    Speaking about the development, Alankrita Shrivastava said, “Collaborating with Netflix has been extremely exciting and fulfilling because they see the urgency and value of women telling their own stories, through the female gaze. Bombay Begums is an attempt to tell a story about the lives of urban Indian women, as honestly as I can. I hope that women (and maybe some men!) can connect to this story, no matter what their background, because maybe we're all trying to find ourselves and our place in this world.”   

    Mai: Following a deep personal tragedy, the docile, 47-year-old wife-and-mother, Sheel, finds herself accidentally sucked into a rabbit hole of violence and power. Ensuing entanglement with white collar crime and politics that forever changed her and the world she inhabits. Mai has Anushka Sharma & Karnesh Sharma's Clean Slate Films as the executive producers and is written by Atul Mongia along with Tamal Sen, Amita Vyas, with Sudip Sharma as a creative producer.

    Talking about the show, Anushka Sharma said, “This is my second collaboration with Netflix after Bulbul and we are again looking to disrupt the kind of content audiences are consuming. We at Clean Slate Films have been dedicated to making clutter-breaking, powerful stories since our first production and we are looking forward to push the content envelope. The creative freedom to be able to translate these stories to screens that reach a global audience is exciting for us, which is why Netflix is such an important partner. Mai is an exciting work of fiction that tells the story of a middle-class Indian woman who leads a double-life of a don. At a time when audiences globally are appreciating differential content, Mai will hopefully intrigue them and entertain them thoroughly.” 

    Betaal: A remote village becomes the theatre of a breathless battle when a two-century-old Betaal, a British Indian Army officer, and his battalion of zombie redcoats are unleashed. With Indian police pitted against the undead army, hapless villagers are trapped in a horrific, edge-of-your-seat conflict. Betaal is Red Chillies Entertainment’s second Netflix series, in collaboration with Ghoul’s Patrick Graham as the writer/director and showrunner, along with Nikhil Mahajan as the director and Suhani Kanwar as writer. It will be executive produced by Blumhouse, known to design some of the best horror content, and Ivanhoe

    Elaborating on the development Patrick Graham said, “Indian legend is filled with tales that thrill, chill and bring the audience to the edge of their seat. It’s a pleasure working with Netflix again on Betaal and to be able to tap the narrative goldmine of Indian stories for a series that brings to life universal conflicts in the engaging and immersive zombie horror genre.”

    Messy: Mumbai’s rising standup comic, Beanie, struggles to balance a career in comedy with pleasing a yuppie day-job boss, peculiar BFF, persistent parents, and proposal-popping boyfriend. Messy is her quest to find her own voice and get her life together in the midst of all the mayhem. American actor and director, Ravi Patel stars in the series which he has created and co-written with Neel Shah. The series is co-produced by The District's David Bernad and Ruben Fleischer and Mutant Films' Seher Aly Latif & Shivani Saran.

    Speaking about the series Ravi Patel said, “I’m excited to work on a story of a strong female lead and voice as we go on this journey with Messy. This is a story about a girl finding herself and her place in the world while living in a big city, and we’re hoping to create a relatable and authentic story that has a universal resonance. The character is not unlike the average urban Indian woman, grappling with various social pressures while nurturing her sense of humour throughout. With Netflix, we have a partner and platform which supports absolute artistic freedom, and can help package this in an engaging manner while taking the story to women the world over.”

    Masaba Masaba: This scripted series based on real-life moments from Masaba Gupta’s life follows her unique background, the diverse worlds she straddles across fashion and family, and her foray back into the dating world. Masaba’s life is a glorious mess, and she’s not afraid to show that to the world. An inspirational, joyous celebration of her life, this fun series will be packed with tongue-in-cheek humor, enacted by the mother-daughter duo, Masaba and Neena Gupta themselves. The genre-bending series is created and produced by Ashvini Yardi’s Viniyard Films and will be directed by Sonam Nair.

    Expressing her excitement Masaba Gupta said, “I’m a huge fan of Netflix and the kind of diverse content it houses. So when the makers approached me with the idea of a show inspired by my life, I was thrilled. It’s been a rollercoaster, honestly, and I feel that the moments I’ve experienced are both unique to my journey and relatable to people the world over. This series will be an amalgamation of my experiences, personally and professionally. I can’t wait for the audience to watch it.”