Netflix has arrived in India. This is a Hiroshima sized nuke in the consumer entertainment industry because there are huge consequences. Listed below are five of the biggest:
1. Cable Television Will First Suffer and Then Die
Tata Sky, Airtel and Reliance, all offer DTH and a la carte subscriptions through set top boxes, but they all mostly suck. 99% of the shows on TV are awful to begin with, and they’re laced with even worse ads. Anyone who has watched the cricket world cup on the telly will testify to how irritating it is to see the same bunch of horrible ads replayed after every over, for a month and a half. Netflix will not have any ads – just the shows in their crystalline form. And it will be in HD, unlike most TV channels.
2. We’ll Finally See Uncensored Shows
Shows
like the Game of Thrones, True Detective and Hannibal have content that is not
acceptable by the great black hole of cultural and moral policing that is the Indian
government. Lines are beeped out, whole scenes that are actually relevant to
the plot are chopped off thanks to imbecilic censoring. Why would anyone watch
deformed versions of good shows on the telly? Netflix’s uncensored shows would
make a lot of people happy – because we’ll finally see the shows the way
they’re supposed to be seen, the way the makers intended for you and me to see them. Don’t believe me? Here’s proof-
3. Life Will Get More Comfy and Fun
It’s 2016, and you’re still expected to rush back from work to catch your favourite TV show, before it begins. To hell with that. With Netflix you can play your favourite show at any time, on any device, whether it’s your TV or laptop, your phone or your tablet. You can even play a show for a while on your laptop, pause it, head out for work, sit in your taxi, open Netflix on your tablet and it automatically resumes the show from where you left it. What’s more, the shows on TV are broadcast at least a week after their US or UK premieres – it’s frustrating to wait. Being the first person to watch the premiere of a show on Netflix, on a device of your choice is the next level of luxury.
4. Fair Usage Policy Will Haunt You
The government’s grand tradition of robbing you dry is displayed to full effect in the dreaded Fair Usage Policy. The ironically named policy forces ISPs to incorporate a monthly download limit for your internet plan. Most ISPs have a 30-40GB download limit, after which the speed decreases dramatically. If you use Netflix you’ll cross that 30GB limit in just a few days at most, and you’ll find yourself paying more to upgrade your internet plan. You’ll also be upgrading your 3G and 4G usage on mobile devices because Netflix sips GBs through a straw.
5. Piracy Will Reduce
The great Gabe Newell famously said that piracy is not a price issue, it’s a service issue. This is especially true for Indian entertainment consumers who get censored shows, that are broadcast late, and are often disrupted during rains, are laced with horrible ads, and are also expensive. The moment people find an economically priced service like Netflix that gives them real luxury and ease of use, where one can simply sit back and stream shows during their premiere, they won’t need to head over to Pirate Bay and download stuff.
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