'World needs to follow Reliance Jio's footsteps' says Netflix CEO Reed Hastings

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is all praise for the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio. The video streaming company CEO believes that the world should take a cue from the Reliance Jio for making internet accessible to the people with cheap tariffs.

“Reliance Jio has done a great job and has transformed the network in India. Some people around the world can do the same as Jio so that more and more people get connected to Internet,” said Hastings.

Reliance Jio, which started services in September 2016, has triggered a tariff war, offering months of free data and charging cheap rates in the country with its 4GQ network.

He however believes that other telecom operators should follow Reliance Jio's footsteps and make Internet more accessible to the people.

Reed Hastings who recently visited the country had said that the company plans on optimising the gap in India where Indian TV production value is much lower than the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, he also pointed out that India is very relevant to the video-streaming company.

Also Read: How Netflix plans to capture OTT space in India

Netflix which claims to have grown five-fold in India is also receiving strong competition from Hotstar, Voot, Amazon Prime Video, Sony Liv. Last month, it had announced a couple of Indian original series, across genres and themes, namely Ghoul, Leila, and Crocodile. The newly announced series will join a larger slate of original productions out of India including 'Sacred Games', 'Selection Day', and 'Bard of Blood'.

The company, which offers video content at the premium subscription cost at Rs 500-800 per month, has managed to persuade the Indian users — who prefer to consume content for free — to pay a premium.

Content is definitely the topmost agenda for Netflix as it has reportedly set aside a Rs 2,000 crore budget exclusively for acquiring content in India.

By December end last year, Netflix had 117.6 million subscribers worldwide and is gaining ground in the international market at a very fast pace.

The development was reported by The Times of India.