Netflix Considering Lower-Price Plans for Select Asian Markets

The test is being done to see if lowering monthly subscription costs will help the company boost the number of subscribers.

US -based streaming giant Netflix has plans to test cheaper plan prices in certain markets, according to a recent interview between CEO Reed Hastings and Bloomberg.

However, Hastings didn't reveal when or where the test would be conducted.

Currently, the two-stream HD tier sits at $10.99 per month, the Premium Plan sits at $13.99 per month, and the single-stream, non-HD Basic plan sits at $7.99 per month, prices that last increased in the fourth quarter of 2017. According to Bloomberg, Netflix executives are now toying with the idea of a fourth tier which would have different features and cost even less than the Basic plan. As Bloomberg points out, Netflix announced "17 new shows from five Asian countries" just last week, is developing over 100 film and TV projects in countries such as India and Japan, and even set up a local headquarters in Singapore a few years ago.

Netflix has more than 137 million subscribers worldwide, and the company's global subscriber base increased 5.87 million members to 78.64 million in one quarter, according to Netflix's third-quarter results. Hastings says there are around 100 million potential customers for Netflix in India, and with the company investing heavily on original content for the country, it's seemingly become a top priority for the firm. According to the report, the company would introduce a new tier or alternate version with different features rather than actually lower its existing tiers.