Netflix launches free plan in Kenya | Channel

Netflix.

• Netflix is rolling out a free plan in Kenya.
• With the free plan, users in Kenya can watch Netflix for as long as they want on android mobile phones, without paying a subscription fee.
• The free plan allows people to access most of Netflix’s shows and films, ad-free.

Netflix has gone free in Africa – specifically in Kenya – where users can watch as much as a quarter of the video streaming service, without ads, in a striking move that ups the ante for rivals like MultiChoice’s Showmax.

On Tuesday, Netflix unlocked its service in Kenya. Asked if this free plan will be rolled out in South Africa or anywhere else on the continent, the streamer told Channel24 that the free plan in Africa is currently only for Kenya and that Netflix’s focus is currently on Kenya with no other plans around its free plan to share at this time.

Netflix’s free plan that will start rolling out in Kenya from 21 September will undoubtedly drive sampling of its service under new users and likely convert some of those samplers to paying subscribers.

With the free plan, users in Kenya can watch Netflix for as long as they want on android mobile phones, without paying a subscription fee. The free plan in Kenya allows people to access most of Netflix’s shows and films ad-free, with personalised recommendations and parental controls.

Content that Netflix isn’t offering for free under the free plan is indicated with a lock icon. When a user clicks on locked content, they will be encouraged to upgrade to a paid Netflix plan. Kenyan users of Netflix can now watch the South African series Blood & Water, Money Heist, the Nigerian series King of Boys: Return of the King and the British series Bridgerton under the free plan.

“At Netflix, we want everyone to be able to enjoy the suspense of Blood & Water, the romance of Bridgerton, and the adventure of Army of the Dead,” says Cathy Conk, Netflix’s director of product innovation.

To sign-up for the free plan, subscribers must enter their email address, confirm they are 18 years or over and create a password. To access Netflix’s entire catalogue on multiple devices, users must upgrade to one of the service’s paid plans.

Kenyan users watching Netflix on the free plan will not be included in Netflix’s stated number of total paid users when it does its quarterly financial reports.