#Asia Netflix launches in 130 countries, now covers most of Asia

//

However, China has to wait a bit longer to be able to enjoy the service

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings at the CES 2016.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings at the CES 2016.

Online film streaming service Netflix announced today that it has officially launch its service in 130 new countries, including India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The announcement was made during a keynote speech by Co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2016 in Las Vegas.

“Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global Internet TV network,” said Hastings.

“With the help of the Internet, we are putting power in consumers’ hands to watch whenever, wherever and on whatever device,” he continued.

The new addition brings the number of countries where the service is available into 190 countries, with the company targeting to reach 200 by end of 2016.

However, due to US government restrictions on American companies, the service will not be available in Crimea, North Korea and Syria.

As for China, the company is currently exploring options for providing its services in the country. In July 2015, Netflix announced that its China expansion plan in 2016 might be delayed. They are also facing competition from local players such as Alibaba, which has its own video-streaming service.

Also Read: After Japan, Netflix will reportedly enter Korea in 2016

The subscription fee for basic service in most Asian countries such as Indonesia, India, the Philippines and South Korea ranges between US$7.5 to US$7.9, with free service available for the first month.

To localise the service, Netflix has also added Arabic, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports.

Not all shows will be available immediately in all countries, but Hastings stated during a media conference after the keynote that the company is “moving as quickly as we can to have global availability of all the content on Netflix.”

Also Read: Netflix to launch video streaming service in India this year

“I think there’s been pent-up demand for Netflix outside of the few geographies they were available in previously … They will certainly spend a lot more on content than consensus has modelled,” said Brian Blau, Research Director at Gartner, as quoted by Reuters.

e27 is currently reaching out to Asian startups providing services similar to Netflix for their comments.

Image Credit: Netflix

The post Netflix launches in 130 countries, now covers most of Asia appeared first on e27.

from e27 http://ift.tt/1Jvp4ZD

This entry was posted in #Asia by Startup365. Bookmark the permalink.

About Startup365

Chaque jour nous vous présenterons une nouvelle Startup française ! Notre pays regorge de talents et d'entrepreneurs brillants ! Alors partons à la découverte des meilleures startup françaises ! Certaines d'entre elles sont dans une étape essentielle dans la vie d'une startup : la recherche de financement, notamment par le financement participatif (ou crowdfunding en anglais). Alors participez à cette grande aventure en leur faisant une petite donation ! Les startups françaises ont besoin de vous !