MUMBAI: Last year, Netflix rolled out a mobile-only plan in India to suit the country's preference for smartphones over laptops. Moreover, it was a way to delve deeper into a market where its basic Rs-500-a-month subscription plan was sharply expensive compared to homegrown OTT giants. The bet got the success it hoped for and Netflix followed the footprint in other markets as well. After nearly a year, the streaming service seems satisfied in the uptake of mobile-only plans as well as its overall growth here.

“It's a plan (mobile-only plan) that we've tested for a while and we have rolled it out now in a bunch of countries: India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. And it's consistent with the broad theme and goal that we have which is why we're seeking effective ways to make the Netflix service more accessible to more and more people around the world,” Netflix chief product officer Greg Peters said in an earnings call.

This strategy has helped Netflix witness a significant increase in acceleration and addition of new members. From a revenue perspective, it's also helping the company go from "neutral to positive", which Peters says will be good in the long term for the business.

While all streaming players have witnessed magical growth in users during this COVID-19 lockdown, everyone is keen to know about Netflix’s growth in the period. Peters said he would not draw any strong contrast between India and other countries around the world. He mentioned that it is putting high effort to make the offering more competitive and attractive to members.

“We've seen a big growth in viewing in India and have had great success for our local originals. Most recently was She andGuilty and a few others have been driving a lot of engagement in local content on our India service and they also are big fans of our global original content like Lacasa de Papel. So we're growing the business of licensed originals, international and domestic, across the board,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said.