KINIBIZ Last week, Internet TV service provider Netflix announced that it had gone live in a number of countries globally including Malaysia, taking the market by surprise. Tiger had heard rumours that Netflix would come to this region in the middle of this year, so even she was caught off-guard by the sudden arrival of Netflix in Malaysia.

The arrival of Netflix is a cause for celebration for many local TV and movie buffs, Tiger is sure. And at RM33 a month for a basic package, it is cheaper than subscribing to pay-TV services like HyppTV and Astro, which will draw many viewers. Plus it has the Netflix brand behind it, and branding is a mighty thing in the eyes of viewers.

However, Netflix has still to contend with rival iflix, which charges around RM10 a month for its Internet TV service. Although iflix’s library content is not as extensive as Netflix’s at present, its price point is very attractive for content-hungry and cash-strapped Malaysians.

Tiger thinks that for the Malaysian and other Asian markets, Netflix may want to offer a ‘light’ version of its offerings, at a price point that is no more than RM10 a month, if only to rake in the subscriber numbers.

Apart from its more attractive pricing, iflix also offers a selection of local content and has also tied up with production companies in the countries it is in to produce original TV series. This is something Netflix has done in the US, but currently all the content available to Malaysian subscribers is American. This could certainly put off many a Malaysian or Asian who wants to watch shows in his or her native language or at the very least are Asian-centric.

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This article was written by G Sharmila.