New Feature / Netflix may soon launch long-term payment plans, starts testing in India

Netflix on Wednesday confirmed it is testing long-term payment plans for its users. The company is working on three-months, six-months, and 12-months plans. Since the feature is still under trial, it is available to select users right now. There’s no word on when Netflix will roll out these long-term plans to all users.

“We believe that our members may value the flexibility that comes from being able to pay for a few months at once. As always, this is a test and we will only introduce it more broadly if people find it useful,” said a Netflix spokesperson.

According to an Economic Times report, Netflix’s long-term plans will be available at discounted rates and may help new users save between 20 to 50 percent depending upon the plans.

Netflix earlier this year launched mobile-only plans in India. The plans start at Rs 199 per month, making the platform affordable for more and new users. The mobile-only plans also help Netflix better compete with the likes of Amazon and local players such as Alt Balaji, MX Player, and Hotstar.

It is worth noting that Amazon offers its Prime Video subscription as part of the Prime membership which is available for Rs 999 per year. The company has also partnered with the local teclos such as Airtel to bundle the free membership. Hotstar also offers Premium membership for Rs 999 per year.

Netflix’s new test appears to be part of the company’s big focus on the Indian market which has an OTT video market estimated to grow at 22%.

“India is the fastest growing entertainment and media market globally and is expected to keep that momentum. Our research shows that in the next five years India will see significant growth in over-the-top (OTT), online gaming and Internet advertising. Growth in these sub-sectors spurs from the growing trends around personalization and increased digitalization,” Rajib Basu, partner and leader – entertainment and media, PwC India is quoted as saying.