EXPERTS ADVISORY

Netflix has announced it’s expanding into India. How will the company’s presence affect the nation’s massive entertainment industry?

University of Michigan experts can discuss the situation:

Puneet Manchanda is a professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business. His areas of expertise are business in emerging markets, strategy and marketing issues.

“Netflix’s global expansion is driven by three forces,” he said. “First, Netflix needs to convince investors that it can keep growing. With the broadband market size outside the U.S. about six times the size of the U.S. market, any significant growth in the future will come from large international markets such as India. Second, a large global reach can be a strong bargaining chip for Netflix in obtaining distribution rights from content providers. Finally, Netflix’s vision is to be a content provider itself. This expansion exposes a large part of the world to original Netflix content.

“In terms of entering India, Netflix can quickly capitalize on a large English-speaking market. But, for the Indian media landscape, the current entry is more evolutionary rather than revolutionary as the English-speaking market already has access to a lot of Netflix’s India content.

“However, if Netflix can crack the vernacular market, for example, by producing content in local languages with local talent, it has the potential to be revolutionary. I would say that the current price is a bit on the high side for what Netflix offers currently, and it will have to keep increasing content quantity and quality over time to justify the price point.”

Contact: 734-936-2445, [email protected]

Aswin Punathambekar, associate professor of communication studies, researches media convergence, media history and public culture with a focus on South Asia.

“With its incredible library of global—especially American and British—films and TV programs, Netflix has the potential to transform how audiences in India consume entertainment,” he said. “Netflix’s success will depend on how quickly the company is able to add popular and successful shows to its Indian catalogue.

“Secondly, low internet speeds remain a major problem in India when it comes to long-form video content. Netflix’s success hinges on its ability to negotiate data packages with Indian telecom companies while remaining attuned to net neutrality issues.

“Finally, it is too early to tell if Netflix will embark on any major original content productions in India even though audiences are seeking programs and genres that Indian television companies simply don’t produce.”

Contact: 734-615-0949, [email protected]

Erik Gordon is a clinical assistant professor at the Ross School of Business who focuses on entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.

“Movies and television shows are hugely popular around the world, so you want to serve the billions of watchers spread through India, East Asia, and the rest of the globe” he said. “Netflix’s low-cost delivery model is especially appealing to fans around the world.”

Contact: [email protected], 734-764-5274