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Netflix and Amazon Eye India Expansion to Drive User Growth

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Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) Prime are both trying to expand their international presence to counter the saturation in the domestic market.

The streaming platforms are increasing regional level programming to make the platforms more attractive and thereby cater to a wider audience.

Netflix recently expanded its presence in India through two movies and a thriller web-television series, Sacred Games. The company is strengthening its original content with a supernatural horror show Ghoul, cricket novel Selection Day, and an unscripted show based on the Mumbai Indians team and the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Amazon is also set to release its fourth original show, Comicstaan, for the country.  Moreover, seven more shows are also in the making, CNBC reported.

Amazon earlier mentioned that it is expanding its reach in India, particularly in the Southern part, by offering original regional content in Tamil and Telugu languages. Reportedly, India is the fastest growing market for Amazon Prime Video Service driven by popularity of its original content offerings in Hindi and five local languages.

India Has Strong Potential
    
Of all places, the streaming companies are looking more aggressively at India because of the strong user growth potential in the country.

The number of mobile Internet users in the world’s second largest populated country, which has nearly 1.4 billion people, was 481 million in December 2017. Per IAMAI report, given the availability of cheaper smartphones, faster connectivity and affordable services, the figure is estimated to cross 500 million by June 2018.

Like other companies, Netflix and Amazon also seem to be cashing in on this. The strong growth prospect presents significant expansion opportunity for them.

We believe continuous original regional content expansion coupled with competitive pricing will aid these companies in the long haul. Notably, per research firm Media Partners Asia, India's online video market, which is valued at more than $700 million, is anticipated to touch $2.4 billion by 2023.

However, competition from Twenty First Century’s (FOXA - Free Report) Star India owned Hotstar, Voot, SonyLIV and many other regional offerings poses significant threat.

Zacks Rank and Stock to Consider

While Amazon has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Netflix carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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Long-term earnings growth rate for Twitter is projected to be 23.1%.

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