'No Ads' is a Fundamental Brand Proposition of Netflix in India As Well: Chris Jaffe

Netflix is finally in India. In line with the streaming major's aim of global expansion, Netflix is now available to access on phones, tablets, smart TVs, select media player boxes and game consoles. Monthly plans start at Rs 500 and go up to Rs 850 for the 4K streaming option. ET had a chat with Chris Jaffe (Vice President - User Interface Innovation) and Chitavan Patel (Director, Content Acquisition) soon after the announcement. Excerpts:

Why did it take so long for Netflix to come to India?

Chitavan: A large part of launching the service is getting the content licensing in place. We were working to sign up all the deals we needed to show all the content that you will see now. We have all of our original Netflix series along with a host of Hollywood movies and TV shows, plus almost a hundred Bollywood titles.

Q. Does that mean that the content is customized for India? In a sense, it's not the entire Netflix library but a subset, with additional Bollywood content.

Chitavan: We'll have all our originals as we do in other markets and for our licensed content which we buy, it's particular to the country. We acquire the best content we can get in each of the markets. Over time, we'll continue to add titles. Our overarching goal is to have a global catalogue.

Chris: Plus our marquee series like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Heroes and so on will be available too. It's not our intention to limit content. Typically, the catalogue is not replicated across markets. And the content is never static - we're constantly adding. Over the next year or so, the content may very well double. For instance, there are 24 new Netflix feature films plus many original series coming this year.

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Q. Are there any plans for localized originals from Netflix?

Chitavan: Over time, we are exploring that in all of our larger markets. India being such a great production hub, this is something we can look at for sure. In terms of Indian content, we're looking at a new wave of Indian independent cinema that's really exciting us. What's really important is, now that we've launched, we get to see what people are engaging with. We'll add more of what people want to see.

Q. CEO and Co founder Reed Hastings recently mentioned that you've seen torrent use drop in some markets that you've started serving. Is it still hard to convince content owners to come onto the platform despite the fact that there is a lot of piracy?

Chitavan: It's a function of what rights are available to us. Sometimes, these may be tied up for 10 years and are therefore inaccessible to us. In terms of licensing, we typically take a second window - that means that there might be a delay to the show/seasons appearing on Netflix as compared to when you see it on your usual set top box in the country. The originals, however, always come in at exactly the same time in all our markets.

Chris: When you look at this kind of expansion, there's almost no right time to do it. That's why we chose to go now with all our originals and a great bunch of licensed content.

Q. Do you have any numbers of how many people were already using Netflix in India — Possibly using VPN and DNS services that mask the location of the user?

Chris: We don't track that. It's very difficult for us to disambiguate that. We have geo-filtering in place but this content is very abstract to us.

Q. What about weak broadband connections in general? Low speeds, low data caps and so on - how do you plan to deal with this?

Chris: India is not unique in data caps. There's lots of places all over the world that have them. The first place we encountered this was in Canada and there's a lot of learning in this. We're very interested in learning what those limitations are in terms of bandwidth, caps, what kinds of devices people use. We want to learn more about content, delivery and so on - specific to each market. There are a lot of metrics that we look at. We can either spend a lot of time studying the problem or we could launch the product and see how it really works. The whole organization is very focused on learning.

Q. Is there a possibility of striking deals with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to bundle Netflix? This might take care of issues like data caps.

Chris: We do offer our Open Connect caching appliances to any ISP that wants them. This means that large amounts of data can be cached locally instead of transferring each time a user wants to watch something.

Q. Have you considered allowing users to download an entire episode or movie - to watch later? This could help for people with slow internet connections.

Chris: So YouTube does that with offline mode - I believe India is one of the few places that this is allowed. We have no current plans to do that and we have never don't that in the past. It's not something we would look at in the near future.

Q. Another big question is censorship. How do you get around this problem in India?

Chris: At this point, nothing is censored. Our goal here is to empower the user with information in order to make an informed decision on what to watch. First off, a credit card is required to sign up for the service. This is proactive - you have to seek out the content as opposed to it just being delivered to you.

What we really tried to do, is to provide information so that the user can make smart choices around what they want to watch. If you look at a title, you'll see a rating, a description and an appropriate minimum age. This is a global ratings structure that we came up with. Another feature we have for parents - they can lock out content that they don't want their kids to see. This requires a PIN code. Our goal is to comply with local rules and regulations but at this point there is no censorship on any of the content.

Q. As far as payment for the service goes, are credit cards the only option? Many people don't have credit cards.

Chris: As of now yes, but we may look at adding other payment options in the future. We want to get in and learn plus evaluate what is needed.

Q. Having seen the interface on varied devices like smartphones, tablets, Apple TV and PlayStation - they're not alike. Is that dictated by the device itself?

Chris: We design, test and build interfaces for classes of devices. So, there is a TV interface (you'll see it on smart TVs, game consoles and many set top boxes) but the exception to this interface is the second and third generation Apple TVs Which had an Apple-driven template - the latest Apple TV has the same interface as the one on smart TVs.

The tablet or mobile interface stays the same, whether you're on iOS or Android. And finally, there's the laptop interface. When a feature launches, it launches across all the devices. The goal of the interface is to connect the user to content. There's a lot of content and we want to find something that you're looking for and then get out of the way so that you can enjoy that content.

Q. For lower bandwidth connections, are there any plans to reduce streaming quality to reduce buffering and wait times?

Chris: We already have adaptive streaming technology built in. The service knows the device you're on and it strives to get the best possible quality according to the bandwidth you have. The system can adjust itself every second. We're not doing anything special for India but it's a learning process. Let's see how it goes and we'll keep innovating if we need to.

Q. Are there any plans to lure existing DTH users? Another way to look at this is - will Netflix be an add-on to regular cable and DTH or a replacement?

Chitavan: What's important is that people want access to content and they'll subscribe to whatever service gives them that. In other markets that we operate in, we are coexisting with other services.

Chris: In every market we have launched, we see that consumer interest and appetite for entertainment continues to grow - either with us or without. Netflix will be a draw since there are a lot of unique features.

Q. How does Netflix work for an individual versus a family?

Chris: There are three plan options. The first one offers one concurrent stream. Then there's one for two concurrent streams and finally, for four. This means that four people could be enjoying different content from Netflix on different devices, simultaneously.

On each device, you can also make multiple profiles, one for each member of the family - all on one subscription, one credit card. The kids profile will show content relevant for children. Each profile gets customized to that user Based on their consumption of content. For instance, my daughter is 8 years old and she's watching some specific content with her profile. The system recognizes that and will recommend more of the same - rather than showing content for very young children.

Q. The price of Netflix in India is roughly the same as in the US. However, piracy is free and there's very little opposition to it. Do you think that the prices ought to be lower?

Chris: At this point, we feel that consistent pricing around the world makes sense. As Reed mentioned, this is the beginning of a 10 or 20 year adventure of learning. We're open to whatever is the most compelling for consumers but we need to learn and figure that out.

Q. Finally, you do have accurate profiles of people based on their consumption patterns. How tempting is it to turn that into a big stream of advertising money?

Chris: This is not us - and we won't go there. We are very respectful of our customers and that's where this philosophy of no ads stems from. Like you mentioned that you were annoyed with regular intrusive advertising on TV - Netflix will be different. No ads is a fundamental brand proposition.

Chitavan: You get this real immersive experience when you're watching two or three episodes of something. To watch a jarring ad in the middle of this would be not so pleasant.

Source: http://www.adageindia.in/interviews/no-ads-is-a-fundamental-brand-proposition-of-netflix-in-india-as-well-chris-jaffe/articleshow/50481379.cms