Flixing your I‘net’e self
Movies will be just a click away now. But is our Internet connectivity ready for it? Only time will tell...
By : sneha k sukumar
Update: 2016-01-08 17:52 GMT
While 2015 will go down in Indian broadcast history as a year of many firsts – Priyanka Chopra cracking Hollywood, the uproar caused by the ban of India’s Daughter, Salman’s legal turmoil not affecting his larger-than-life screen persona and the many issues with the censor board, 2016 is looking better for film buffs and television addicts! With the New Year, a bright new prospect took over the Internet and that was the (rumoured) launch of on-demand streaming service, Netflix in India. With high piracy rates and torrent websites now monitored and shut down by the Government, this streaming service is making Bengalureans breathe a sigh of relief and are having them predict that “Netflix and chill” might be the mantra in 2016.
Although India isn’t new to digital video streaming services (see Bigflix, Google Play’s movie section, YouTube’s movie rental services, Spuul and Hooq), Netflix promises not just large libraries of high definition films and TV shows under one roof, but also vows to bring us shows that we haven’t even heard of yet. “It will really change the way English TV series are viewed in India because with this, there will be virtually no delay in the broadcasting of a show whether in the USA or India,” says Vijith Quadros, a tech enthusiast from the city as he echoes the sentiments of his fellow Indians.
With the service also housing its own exclusive shows such as Orange is the New Black, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and House of Cards, another popular belief is that Indians will now get to dictate what the world watches. What with 46 per cent of Internet usage in India being because of video consumption, this might in fact be true. “A lot of what we embrace as ‘pop culture’ in India is informed heavily by content from the other side of the globe. With this service coming to India, and given the size of our consumption market, it’s only a matter of time, before our cultural influences start informing what content needs to be created for Netflix (think Priyanka Chopra in Quantico and Nimrat Kaur in Homeland),” says Vinay Arakali Nagaraj, the marketing head of Furdo. The 30-year-old who binge watches at least two TV series in a month believes that at a time when nobody watches content on TV anymore, this is coming to India at just the right time
While it’s an exciting prospect for some, others believe the announcement doesn’t change a thing and actually poses a threat to Net Neutrality by giving preference to 4G networks. “We wouldn’t want anything more, but Internet connectivity has always been a huge problem in India and with information that suggests that Netflix will be available over 4G networks – something that is far away from reality in the country, this service will probably just remain a dream,” says Anjaan Upadhyay, a software professional. “Who are we kidding? We can’t afford that much data,” adds Sangeetha R, the sales head of a startup, who believes that Internet packages required to stream services such as this one will be expensive.
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