Netflix, facing more competition globally in the streaming wars, has cut pricing in more than 100 markets worldwide — in some cases, chopping the price of monthly plans in half — to boost subscriber acquisition and retention.
The streamer has reduced prices in countries and territories across Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Netflix is not reducing prices in North America or Western Europe, its most mature markets.
All told, the price reductions span more than 100 markets, according to research firm Ampere Analysis (see list, below). Those include Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Kenya, Iran, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Yemen, Jordan, Libya, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
For example, in Venezuela, Netflix’s single-stream Basic plan is now $3.99/month (down 50% from $7.99 previously); the two-stream Standard plan is $5.99/month (vs. $10.99 before); and the four-stream Premium tier is now $7.99/month (vs. $13.99). In the Philippines, Basic dropped from ₱369 to ₱249/month and Standard was reduced from ₱459 to ₱399/month.
Netflix confirmed it has reduced pricing in “certain countries” but did not detail which ones. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on the company’s price cuts in some international markets. “Members have never had more choices when it comes to entertainment. We’re always exploring ways to improve our members’ experience,” a rep said in a statement.
In Q4, Netflix gained 7.7 million new subscribers, growing its base in all geographic regions and blowing past the 4.5 million pickup it previously forecast, to reach 230.75 million worldwide as of the end of 2022.
Greg Peters, Netflix’s newly named co-CEO as Reed Hastings stepped aside, said on the earnings call in January that it had an opportunity to attract new customers in countries were the streamer is not “deeply penetrated.”
“When you think about the pricing question… we want to make that spectrum even wider as we seek to serve more members around the world in trying to deliver appropriate value at those different price points,” Peters told analysts. “And we’re doing a good job expanding that range… There’s a bunch of people around the world in countries where we’re not deeply penetrated, and we have more opportunities to go attract them.”
Meanwhile, this year Netflix has begun to widen the rollout of its paid-sharing program through which it’s looking to convert unauthorized password-sharing accounts to paying customers. Netflix’s terms of service say customers may share their account only with members of their own household. Earlier this month, Netflix launched a “buy an extra member” option in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain — and said it would begin blocking devices that it detects are trying to illicitly piggyback off someone else’s account.
“This will not be a universally popular move,” Peters said on the earnings call. There will be “a bit of cancel reaction to that,” similar to what Netflix sees when it raises pricing. “Our job is to give them a little bit of a nudge and to create features that make transitioning to their own account easy and simple.”
Here’s the full list of countries where Netflix has reduced pricing, according to research firm Ampere Analysis: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Christmas Island, Comoros, Congo – Brazzaville, Congo – Kinshasa, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Palestinian Territories, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Barthélemy, St. Helena, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Source: Variety News
