Netflix launches in India, plans starting from Rs.500

Netflix also went live in more than 130 countries on Wednesday, covering almost the entire globe except China.

Netflix Inc. launched operations in India on Wednesday, with plans starting at Rs. 500 ($7.50) per month, as the U.S.-based video streaming company pushes ahead with its global expansion plans.

Shares of the company, whose popular shows include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Daredevil and Narcos, jumped 9.3 percent to close at $117.68.

There were lots of speculation on the launch of the service in the second-most populous country in the world.

The company will also offer two other plans priced at Rs. 650 rupees and Rs. 800 rupees, it announced on its website, along with a Rs.500 plan.

Netflix is aggressively moving into new markets and aims to reach 200 countries by the end of 2016, as slowing domestic growth puts pressure on the company.

Users can access Netflix through an app on a smart TV, a videogame console, a streaming player, a smartphone or a tablet.

Why not in China?

The company is still exploring options for providing its service in China, the world’s most populous country. Asked if Netflix will make it into the Chinese market in 2016, Hastings said in an interview “we hope so, but you never know.”

“With China, you really want to build relationships first, before you get to the practical parts of building a business,” he said. “And so we are doing that now and getting to know people, both in government and in partner companies.”

“We’ll just keep working on the relationships,” he said. “We are very patient. Whether it is 2016, 2017, we’ll just keep working on it.”

Netflix on Wednesday added simplified and traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports.

“I think there’s been pent-up demand for Netflix outside of the few geographies they were available in previously,” Brian Blau, research director at Gartner, told Reuters.