Database: Streaming services in India (2021)

[msankadi]

Yes I totally agree. I was checking their app today, Sony LIV is for 6 months but zee5 is for 1 year. Pretty weirdo. Currently they are giving 6 months on Google one membership and 1 year of dineout membership. Which is good.

Another thing I don't like is most of their membership offers are valid only for first time subscribers, like hello how many more years till we get offers for existing customers?

 

[k-pad]

Check your email, you should have received a mail saying they will charge lower from December.

Had to write to them
But it got done

 

[k-pad]

My biggest grouse with it is that they offer different durations for each services. That makes things complicated. If the subscription was like 3-6-12 months for all services, it will be very convenient and worth considering.

That way, Amazon offering full one year at decent prices (barring Mubi) for every service for first year is almost commendable.

 

[OM_2K19]

Pricing or Poor Content?

Netflix’s lack of success in India ‘frustrating’, cofounder Reed Hastings says

While Netflix has never revealed the number of subscribers in India, market estimates place the figure at 4.3-4.5 million, a fraction of rivals Disney+ Hotstar (36 million) and Amazon Prime Video (over 17 million).

economictimes.indiatimes.com

 

[k-pad]

Pricing or Poor Content?

Netflix’s lack of success in India ‘frustrating’, cofounder Reed Hastings says

While Netflix has never revealed the number of subscribers in India, market estimates place the figure at 4.3-4.5 million, a fraction of rivals Disney+ Hotstar (36 million) and Amazon Prime Video (over 17 million).

economictimes.indiatimes.com

It's mix of both, actually.

Overall, when it comes to streaming services in India, things majorly took off in 2015 with Hotstar streaming the World Cup and IPL back to back at the beginning of the year.
Cricket in India is a huge launchpad, and while I wouldn't have numbers off the top of my head, HS must have had a huge springboard with these two events.
HS slowly brought HBO on board next, again if my memory serves right. It also had the star bouquet.

Netflix, i think, came next, and offered the kind of shows that the Indian audience was already streaming with their own means

Prime first launched as a shopping service - "free shipping, same day delivery, discounts" etc.
Considering it was launched at the peak of Flipkart's decline, it's early birds were all shopping customers, which in itself must have provided a huge base. It then introduced Video, and immediately it was evident that its content was very different to that of what HS and NF were offering at that time.

I think the biggest move Prime made was to onboard an Indian language library at lightening speed. Voila, without even original content as good as NF, it now had a huge library of local content. I still remember enjoying so many old Tamil movies that were earlier very difficult to source otherwise.

Then, of course, came the free Music add on. In the mind of a customer, for 999 (now 1499, i think) Prime was giving shopping benefits, content and music all rolled in one. Heck, it initially even offered a WaPo subscription for free to a negligible niche.

Netflix was still priced at a jaw dropping 499-649 PER MONTH slabs.

All this 2016-2018.

Since then till now, Hotstar has not only got Disney onboard (or the other way round), but also started acquiring great local content.
Prime too has some sharp choices of local content.
And the recent tie-ins with other streamers is a killer move.

NF, unfortunately has not much great local content to speak of, outside of a couple of Hindi series and its stillborn anthology line-ups.

In fact, as of today, Sony has hugely upped its game (I only hope it does so in the backend too) and has so many great Indian shows.

Finally the pricing:
HS too went through a phase that NF is going through now, but it happened earlier.

When you tell a customer you are offering video on mobile, their first thought would be how much cheaper than my cable would that be.
(I think even Hastings mentioned it in one of his media interactions about his India problem)

HS experienced it first hand, and learnt its lessons.
In fact, every player barring NF seems to have understood it and priced their offering at around 1000 bucks (1500-2000 today) PER YEAR.
Which still is way beyond what NF can ever hope to offer.

Never future gaze, but I think NF still has a bigger challenge coming its way, with FB and Amazon seriously eyeing Indian sports, exactly something NF really needs today in India. But, I don't think NF is in that conversation.

The next 10 years of media rights for IPL could be owned by either HS, Sony Liv, or Prime of Facebook. Imagine where that would leave NF if one of its direct competitors got it.

Just my thoughts. Other views most welcome.