On Wednesday, Netflix launched in India as part of its aggressive global expansion. Users can access the film library through the Netflix app.
Signing up is simple enough. Enter basic details and credit card. The first month is free, but a charge is made and then reversed on the card. After that, users can take their pick of movies and click play to watch, using a tablet, mobile, PC or on a smart television. The plans begin at Rs 500 and include unlimited movies. The number of screens is limited though, so if a user wants the content on more than one screen, a higher plan can be taken.
So are Indians overjoyed? Not quite. The pickings are very meagre and there are barely any new Hindi movies to watch. "It's back to torrents," said one potential user on social media, referring to downloading pirated versions of films. That intention was echoed by many. Users are not happy with the fact that content on Netflix is censored or that "the rights belong to ZeeTV."
Others were concerned about the lack of high-speed internet in India and still others about how there are multiple devices in each household, ultimately making Netflix an expensive proposition despite the plans being "smartly priced," according to users. A number of users managing to use proxy servers to access Netflix US are planning to continue as they were.
Netflix India was launched at the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, at Las Vegas.
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
