Netflix's India Hopes Face Hurdles, Barclays Analyst Says

Netflix may see India as a big potential growth opportunity, but to sizably expand its customer base there it must move to an ad-supported business model or line up a significant wholesale partnership, Barclays' Kannan Venkateshwar wrote investors Friday. India is one of the fastest growing online video markets, with 2017 consumption up four to five times year over year and there's a big push toward fiber-based broadband connectivity across major population centers, the analyst said. But India's media market carries challenges, like cultural heterogeneity, demographics, competitive intensity and the structure of broadband and TV markets, Venkateshwar said, adding that India could represent 6 million to 11 million subscribers to Netflix over five years.