Netflix unleashed in 130 countries as it becomes ‘global network’


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Rebecca Hawkes

| 07 January 2016




Netflix has announced its entry into India, along with 130 other markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe – a substantial expansion from its previous presence in 60 countries.


CEO Reed Hastings told delegates at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that the US streaming giant is now available in “all major countries” around the world “except China”, which he hopes to rectify soon.

It had been rumoured that Netflix was ready to launch in India and Russia, but the scale of the company’s immediate expansion was not anticipated. The subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service was switched on during Hastings’ keynote CES speech not only in India and Russia, but also in scores of countries including South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Poland and Turkey.

Most of the new markets will receive programming in English, but Netflix has added Arabic, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already offers.

The extensive list of territories Netflix is now available in includes Antarctica and Afghanistan, although Crimea, North Korea and Syria are not served due to US Government restrictions on American companies in those markets.

“You are witnessing the birth of a global TV network,” said Hastings. He added that although the launch was a “big deal” the “real work” would take place in the next 20 years.

India – which boasts an Internet market of 300 million, which is expected to swell to 1.2 billion in the next few years – is an attractive proposition for Netflix, despite the slow Internet speeds and unreliable connections currently bothering the populous country.

The US streaming company will face competition in India from Star’s Hotstar, Singapore-based Spuul, HOOQ and Eros Now, among others, as it looks to South Asia and other overseas markets to increase its VOD subscriber base.

Hastings revealed at CES that Netflix reached almost half of all US households and 70 million homes globally, with 12 billion hours of its programming consumed in Q4 of 2015, up from 8.25 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Netflix plans to offer more than 600 hours of original content in 2016, including two new series – The Crown and The Get Down – plus a film starring Brad Pitt and its first chat show