Nivedita Bhattacharjee · · 2 min readNetflix launches in 130 new countries, all at once
CEO Reed Hastings onstage at CES 2016. Photo credit: Netflix.
Netflix made a huge Asian push today as it launched its services in more than a hundred new countries, including in India, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Chief executive Reed Hastings announced the launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, bringing to an end feverish rounds of speculation in the media.
See: Netflix, welcome to India. We’re ready for you
As Hastings and head of content acquisition Ted Sarandos talked about the importance of internet TV and “a simple shift from corporate to consumer control,” the company’s new websites went live, announcing basic plans starting at about US$7.63 dollars in India, Singapore, and elsewhere.
The company also added Arabic, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports.
“Given the choice, people are willing to pay a fair price rather than resort to piracy,” Reed said. “Today we are in nearly every country but China.”
The video streaming service needs the global push as its home market stagnates, but even so, getting into 130 new countries is a bold step.
The company missed its chance in China, but has obviously learned from that mistake.
See: Netflix to launch in Singapore in early 2016. Does it stand a chance?
Follow our coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show here
Editing by Terence Lee
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