Netflix Is Spending Rs. 3,000 Crores

Netflix is ​​raising Rs. 3,000 crore ($ 420 million) to produce more local content this year and in India, one of the largest and most crowded markets for the world's largest paid streaming-service provider. "You will start seeing a lot of stuff on the screen, big investment," Chief Executive Officer Reid Hastings said at an event in New Delhi on Friday. "We are really trying to invest in that content offering to become more Indian."

The Los Gatos, California-based company is working with other giants such as Walt Disney-owned Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video for a slice of the growing market as more Indians use smartphones to watch videos. Companies are offering relatively cheap packages to lure paying customers in the country YouTube uses for free.

Hastings has said that Netflix aims to attract 100 million subscribers in India - about 25 times its projected subscriber base as of this year. The world's second-most populous country is a priority for the company, which is effectively blocked in China.

Disney's Hotstar, already a pioneer in India will get a boost soon when entertainment giants eventually introduce Disney +, a new streaming service that debuted in some markets last month.

With a market that could hit around 850 million smartphone users by 2022, now compared with around half a billion, India remained a conglomerate of local streaming firms backed by all major global players as well as Bollywood production houses are. According to a Boston Consulting Group report last year, the $ 20 million Indian video-streaming market could grow 10-fold by 2023.

Highlighting the competition, Apple made a market leap in September with its Apple TV +, while Walmart's local asset, Flipkart, revealed its plans to launch a free Indian video streaming service in August.

"We got an eye for being very local and authentic and an eye that would be shared around the world," he said. "But it's Netflix's advantage to be able to produce and share in India."