Netflix Plan to Fix Its Subscription Crisis Starts in Asia

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Netflix Inc. is looking to Asia after its shock first-quarter slowdown, seeking to both maintain growth in the one region where it’s still adding subscribers and replicate its success there in other parts of the world.

Despite plans to curb overall spending, investment in Asia will keep growing, including financing for the production of local films and series, Tony Zameczkowski, vice president of business development for Asia Pacific, said in an interview. 

While Netflix will continue to offer low-price, mobile-only membership across Asia, it’s also seeking more partnerships with wireless operators and digital payment companies to reach more potential customers in a region where credit card use is less common, he said. The company’s Asia strategy is informing moves in other emerging markets, where the platform must also grow to balance out saturation in North America and Europe.

“Asia is a great proxy for other markets in the world,” said Zameczkowski. “There are similarities between emerging Asia and other emerging markets like Africa and Latin America. Learnings here can be easily replicated or leveraged by those regions.” 

The world’s biggest streaming platform is at a critical juncture. Shares surged in recent years as subscriber counts boomed, but the company reported its first loss of customers in more than a decade in April and forecasts another contraction this quarter amid fierce competition from rivals. With more than 70% of its market value wiped out since mid-November, Netflix is under pressure to renew a content pipeline that’s lost shine, while cutting costs.

The company has already made inroads in the Asia Pacific but the broader slowdown gives added impetus to build on the success of South Korean mega-hits