Netflix on Monday launched a mobile-only plan for free in Kenya, a move aimed at sparking growth in the East Africa country.
The free mobile plan is exclusive to Android phones, though it isn't clear if tablets users in Kenya are eligible too. The American streaming giant won't serve any form of adverts to users either.
The free plan features Netflix movies and TV shows such as Bridgerton, Money Heist Army of the Dead, African series Blood and Water, and many other contents. Netflix is investing in locally made programming such as Queen Sono and Jiva! and has even partnered with production studios in Nigeria.
According to Variety, the free plan is enticing enough and doesn't require new signups to enter their billing details. That alone will help attract users.
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However, the free plan comes with its own limitations. Users won't be able to enjoy some benefits unless they switch to a paid subscription. They include the ability to cast, watch from a TV or computer, and download content to watch offline.
Also, the free catalog is relatively small, which should motivate users to upgrade to a paid plan with more content.
"If you've neer watched Netflix before — and many people in Kenya haven't — this is a great way to experience our service," Cathy Conk, director of product innovation at Netflix said in a blog post. "And if you like what you see, it's easy to upgrade to one of our paid plans so you can enjoy our full catahog on your TV or laptop well."
Netflix is trying to explore for customers outside saturated markets such as the US, UK, etc, where new signups has slowed down due to intense competition from rivals. Since Africa is a small market for streaming TV subscriptions, Netflix has taken some steps to boost usage on the content. That is, the creation of a paid mobile-only plan and partnership with local telecom operators to ease payments.
The streaming giant which currently has 209 million paying customers in over 190 countries, depending on the outcome of this experiment may expand this idea to other countries, or totally kill it if doesn't do well.