How Netflix Can Win the Indian Market

India is a huge market for anything, but still, Netflix is struggling in India because Indian consumers are not willing to pay for movies and shows that they are going to watch only a few times in a month and are easily available on pirated sites. In India, almost 9.589 billion visits have occurred to pirate sites.

However, there are several strategies that Netflix can employ to succeed in India:

1. Build a habit: Netflix needs to create a habit for its customers, something that they can look forward to every day. Many people subscribe to Netflix monthly just for sitcoms, as they need them while eating, traveling, or when they get bored. Netflix should create something like a sitcom for India, releasing daily episodes.
2. Focus on Tier 2 and 3 cities: Netflix must target the huge customer base in these areas, who, from my observation, enjoy grand mass movies, mostly from South India. Netflix should produce more movies like these, or acquire and dub them, as Goldmines does.
3. Sign contracts with talented directors: Netflix should collaborate with young and innovative Indian directors, such as Lokesh Kanagaraj, who is creating India's first planned movie universe, the Loki Universe. Acquiring and arranging all the released and upcoming movies of the Loki Universe would help Netflix attract a large audience due to their high rewatch value.
4. Reduce subscription price: Netflix should consider reducing the subscription price for a single screen from 149 to 99 rupees for almost a year to attract more customers. Also, improving the streaming quality to 720p from 480p would enhance the viewing experience and entice more subscribers.
5. Tackle password sharing: To address this issue, Netflix must implement an OTP system for login. Because it is a little time-consuming and annoying to ask for OTP.
6. Focus on regional content: Netflix should pay attention to regional content, as they are focusing on South India. For example, Netflix does not have any decent movies in Marathi.
7. Leverage brand image: Netflix has an established brand image in India, which it should leverage to create hype and market its content effectively, unlike Sony Liv, which has failed to build a strong brand image despite producing excellent series like Rocket Boys, Gullak, Scam 1992, etc.

In my opinion, most of Netflix's shows cater to smart, educated millennials and Gen Z, so they must add a touch of “Disneyness”, as most content produced by Disney+ Hotstar is for Tier 2 and 3 India.

In conclusion, Netflix needs to focus on building habits, expanding regional content, collaborating with young and talented directors, and reducing subscription prices to win over Indian audiences. By leveraging its brand image and targeting Tier 2 and 3 cities with content that resonates with local audiences, Netflix can establish itself as a leading streaming platform in India.