Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is betting big on Asia-Pacific by investing millions of dollars into original and licensed content in major markets like India.
When the tech company reported third-quarter earnings last month, it said nearly half of its paid membership growth came from APAC — the greatest share of any region. International expansion has been a major focus for Netflix in recent years, particularly in markets across Asia-Pacific since 2016.
Netflix focused on localization as it launched in the region, Tony Zameczkowski, vice president for business development in APAC at Netflix said in an interview in late October.
That included adding subtitles and dubbing in regional languages like Hindi, Malay, Korean, Japanese, Thai and Bahasa Indonesia. The company also made the app interface available in local languages.
The company has pushed mobile-only plans in places like India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, offering those subscription plans at below $5 a month. That’s a stark contrast with the kind of premium pricing Netflix has in markets like the United States, where a standard subscription costs about $14.
In India, for example, users can pay 199 Indian rupees ($2.68 U.S.) a month to watch Netflix uninterrupted in standard definition on a smartphone or tablet at any one time. The mobile plan, introduced in 2019, was in addition to three other plans that already existed, ranging from between 499 rupees a month to 799 rupees.
Zameczkowski said Netflix is "very bullish" about the kind of opportunity Asia presents. "Markets like Japan, (South) Korea, India, Indonesia are definitely markets where we see significant potential and we will continue to invest in those markets," he added.
NFLX shares dumped $19.63, or 3.8%, to $495.10.
