Netflix engagement in India grows by 30% in Q1 after price cuts

New Delhi: A significant price reduction in subscription tiers in India has helped Netflix grow engagement in the country by nearly 30 percent (year on year) in the first quarter of 2023, the streaming giant has announced.

Over time, Netflix has adapted its prices to meet local needs, and to further deepen its penetration, it lowered prices in India by 20-60 percent in December 2021.

"These reductions -- combined with an improved slate -- helped grow engagement in India by nearly 30 percent year on year while F/X neutral revenue growth in 2022 accelerated to 24 percent (versus 19 percent in 2021)," the company said in its March quarter earnings late on Tuesday.

Learning from the success in India, Netflix reduced prices in an additional 116 countries in Q1.

"While they represented less than 5 percent of our FY22 revenue, we believe that increasing adoption in these markets will help to maximise our revenue longer term," said Netflix.

The company registered $8.16 billion in revenue during Q1 2023, slightly lower than market expectations. However, the company reported higher-than-expected earnings of $2.88 per share in Q1.

APAC revenue grew 2 percent year over year and average paid memberships increased 17 percent.

"Given the current healthy performance and trajectory of our per-member advertising economics, particularly in the US, we're upgrading our ads experience with more streams and improved video quality to attract a broader range of consumers," said the streaming platform.

Netflix said it is on track to meet the full-year 2023 financial objectives.

"For Q2 2023, we forecast revenue of $8.2 billion, up 3 percent year," said Netflix.