Everyone in India will have free access to Netflix for two days on December 5 and 6. The streaming platform is hosting StreamFest, a weekend of free Netflix where anyone in India can watch anything on Netflix from movies, to series and documentaries.
However, while one Netflix ID can be used by multiple people, those who sign up for StreamFest will only get one stream in standard definition. “So, no one else can use the same login information to stream. But, hey, it’s free, so anyone can sign up on their own,” Netflix said in a statement.
Once signed up, users can use that login to watch across devices from Android devices, to smart TVs and gaming consoles, Netflix said.
“You can also access every feature that our members currently use and love —create Profiles (including Kids’ Profiles), set Parental Controls, browse Netflix in Hindi, add series or films to My List, watch with subtitles or dubs, use Smart Downloads on mobile, and see the Top 10 list (which gives you the 10 most popular movies and shows on Netflix in India). This is because we want fans keen to try Netflix to experience it exactly the way our members do,” Monika Shergill Vice President, Content, Netflix India said in a media statement.
To access StreamFest, users will have to sign up using their name, email or phone number, and password. No credit or debit card or payment will be required.
Netflix said, however, that it will be limiting the number of StreamFest viewers. “So, during StreamFest, if you see a message saying “StreamFest is at capacity”, don’t worry. We’ll let you know when you can start streaming,” Monika added.
StreamFest was first revealed by Netflix Chief Product Officer and COO Greg Peters, who said during company’s earnings call last month that the company is coming up with ways to get new customers.
“An idea that we're excited about, and we'll see how it goes, but we think that giving everyone in a country access to Netflix for free for a weekend could be a great way to expose a bunch of new people to the amazing stories that we have, the service, how the service works, really create an event and hopefully get a bunch of those folks to sign up. So, we're going to try that in India, and we'll see how that goes. And that's just an example of the kind of innovation that we seek to do in this space,” he said at the time.