Netflix is introducing a free plan for Android users in Vietnam, without any ads. The registration process just involves providing a valid email address and confirming that you are at least 18 years of age. Netflix will not ask you for any payment information.
With the free plan, you can have up to five profiles, with each profile getting recommendations tailored to your watch history. It seems like most of the normal features will be available in the free plan, including the ‘My List’ watch later section, parental controls, and profile PINs to lock off access from others. They’re also planning to add the download features in the coming months so you can view Netflix content offline.
You might think that this sounds too good to be true for a free service, and you would be right. The catch is that you only get a small portion of the catalogue, which is presumably about 25%. Also, the plan being Android-exclusive means that the service is not available on iOS or web, and you will not be able to cast Netflix to your TV. If you want access on other devices, you would have to upgrade to a paid plan. The free plan also does not include access to Netflix Games.
Vietnam is actually the second country to get this plan, with Kenya being the first. When Netflix first launched the free plan two months ago, they alluded to offering it to more regions, so hopefully we’ll see more launches in the future.
There are multiple possible reasons as to why Netflix chose Vietnam as the second country to get the plan. Firstly, it was found that Vietnamese consumers favour free ad-supported content as opposed to a paid service. In fact, YouTube was the movie streaming platform-of-choice for more than half of Vietnamese consumers in Q1 2021.
Netflix also has to compete with local companies like VieOn and FPT Play, with the latter beating Netflix with a 23% share of paid streaming services in Vietnam, while Netflix only has 16%.
For Malaysia, there is no word just yet for any plans for a free plan, but Netflix has given us other plans in the past. For example, they tested out a Mobile+ option with full HD streaming this year.
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