Netflix is shoring up its defences in the Southeast Asian region, in anticipation of the arrival of Disney’s Disney+ Hotstar service.
According to Reuters, Netflix will focus efforts on their mobile-only subscription plans in the region. Netflix director for product innovation Ajay Arora told Reuters that “What we see in Southeast Asia is that it’s a very mobile-centric market.” Currently, Netflix Malaysia offers a mobile plan that costs RM17 per month. Arora also told Reuters that effort is being made to expand payment options in countries that do not use credit and debit cards much.
In addition, the streaming service will work on expanding local content. Netflix will begin filming new projects in Indonesia and Thailand, and has already announced two new Indonesian productions, Netflix Southeast Asia content lead Myleeta Aga revealed to Reuters. Netflix Malaysia currently has local shows like the military action film Paskal and martial arts movie Wira.
Meanwhile, Disney+ Hotstar is due to launch in Indonesia on 5 September, with Disney partnering up with Indonesia’s Telekomsel to bring the service into the country. The service will include not just Disney and Marvel fare but a host of Indian content, as a result of Disney’s acquisition of Star India and Hotstar. Disney+ Hotstar will no doubt amass some staggering numbers, but it’ll be interesting to see how Netflix’s own numbers fare when the time comes.
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