Exclusive: Netflix has 2-3 lakh paying subscribers in India, an investigation of the company's India tax records by MediaNama has revealed (see methodology below). Of the company's 93.8 million subscribers, between 211,500-337,300 are from India. This is a small share of Netflix's international market, but it's significant, considering India's nascent broadband infrastructure; the video-on-demand market has also been mushrooming only in the last couple years. The company gained over 14 million new subscribers from outside the US since last year, when it expanded to all countries except China. India, which is the most populous Netflix market, has contributed to around 2% of that growth. Netflix does not reveal per-country subscription counts outside the US. MediaNama used Netflix's January service tax data for this story. The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment. We will update this piece if they do. Low Internet penetration and cheap TV India's limited broadband penetration and inexpensive cable and satellite television plans are likely why Netflix has gained such a relatively low foothold in India. In an interview with Outlook Business, CEO Reed Hastings had called India's Internet infrastructure 'frustrating'. Indeed, even as the company collaborates with Internet Providers all over Asia including Pakistan, it is yet to announce a single collaboration or interconnection deal in India. Only around 7% of Indians have access to broadband; most use the Internet using mobile data connections. Netflix tried to bridge this gap by introducing the option to download titles offline in December last year. Additionally, the high cost of…
