The world’s biggest streaming service, Netflix will be handing out a free pass for all non-subscribers through its weekend-long free access to their service from 5 December, 12:01 am to 6 December, 11:59 pm, in an effort to ramp up its users in India. The StreamFest, as Netflix calls it, will give the users complete access to Netflix’s entire catalog ranging from Movies to Shows to Documentaries and plenty more. All of this will be available to the users without the trouble of adding their credit cards, debit cards, or any kind of payment details. The users will simply need to sign up with their name, email address/phone number, and a password. Also, if you previously had an account, you’ll have the choice to resume the same.
Netflix India’s VP Monica Shergill stated on the StreamFest dedicated page, “Anyone in India can watch all the blockbuster films, the biggest series, award-winning documentaries, and entertaining reality shows for two whole days.” She further added that the users could, “Pick from some of the biggest Indian movies and series: experience the anticipation of ‘What happens in 25 days?’ in Sacred Games, continue a mad ride with the newly released Ludo, and be inspired by the Telugu hit Miss India. Or pick international movies and series: feel the adrenaline rush of Extraction; and be immersed in a crime drama with the Spanish series, La Casa de Papel. Your kids will also love our very own Mighty Little Bheem, and be able to choose their own adventure with the interactive Boss Baby: Get that Baby.”
Despite these perks, there are a couple of catches. First, the users will be provided access to all the films and shows in Standard Definition (SD) which is available in the Basic Plan of Rs. 499. Secondly, there’ll a cap on the number of users that can access this free giveaway, that is, after the StreamFest acquires a particular limit of viewers, a message saying “StreamFest is at capacity” will be displayed on the screen. But, aside from these few tweaks, the users will be able to access all other features like parental controls, switching languages, and customizing subtitles. apart from that, they will also be able to stream on the device of their choice, be it their mobile phone, TV, or Gaming Consoles after signing up on a browser at Netflix.com/StreamFest.
Seeing the large market opportunity in India, Netflix had also rolled out a pocket-friendly mobile-exclusive plan worth Rs.199 to suit the Indian audience, which allowed users to stream movies and shows of their choice on their mobile devices exclusively. Early this year, Netflix stopped offering their former 30-day trial in India and later extended it to other markets as well. Reacting to this, Partner and Media & Entertainment Leader at EY India, Ashish Pherwani said, “Subscription-based video on demand is still in its infancy in India, since only a few million people pay for such services in the country and the rest are getting it bundled with data packs or other services. There is, therefore, a need to create a habit and get people to try out these services,” which is exactly what Netflix did with their StreamFest.
In the company’s earnings conference call last month, Netflix chief operating officer and chief product officer Greg Peters had said, “We think that giving everyone in a country access to Netflix for free for a weekend could be a great way to expose a bunch of new people to the amazing stories that we have, the service, how the service works and hopefully get a bunch of those folks to sign up.” He also added, “We have been working really hard to try and make our offering in India more competitive, more attractive to members and members-to-be, and there’s a bunch of different product features we’ve been doing, partnerships and payments integrations.”
Netflix’s free StreamFest could lead the way for Netflix to the hearts of Indian users and help them acquire a significant amount of new sign-ups. The promotions for the same are also in full blast on their different social media handles. Teasers featuring renowned Bollywood stars like Anil Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Yami Gautam have also been released as a part of the promotion. Now, all we’ve to do is await 5th December and let the show begin. you can also set a reminder for the StreamFest by visiting Netflix.com/StreamFest.
