The estimated reading time for this post is 2 minutes
Last week, Netflix announced that it has expanded to offer streaming media in 190 countries around the world. As of January 6, Netflix increased its service coverage to include 130 more countries, up from the 60 countries where it was available before.
The announcement was made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada by the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings. “Right now, you are witnessing the birth of a global TV network,” said Hastings at the event. “Whether you are in Sydney or St. Petersburg, Singapore or Seoul, Santiago or Saskatoon, you now can be part of the Internet TV revolution.”
Wondering whether Netflix is available in your country now? A full list of the 190 countries where Netflix is available can be found at the Netflix Help Center page. A coverage map is also available on that page so you can see where Netflix is offered throughout the world.
According to a Netflix representative, “Pricing is fairly similar around the world. New markets will be priced starting at USD $7.99 per month or the local currency equivalent.” A 30-day free trial is offered in the countries where Netflix is available.
=> Don’t miss: Apple TV, Fire TV or Roku: Which Is Best for You? to learn more about streaming media players.
Absent from the list of countries covered by Netflix are China, North Korea, Syria and the Crimea. Not all content will be available in all countries, but some Netflix original shows will be available everywhere, such as Marvel’s Daredevil and Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Narcos, Sense8, Grace and Frankie, and Marco Polo.
A sample of content available around the world is presented in this video from Netflix:
Netflix previously supported 17 different languages and now has added three more languages, including Arabic, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Not all content is available in all languages though. Some shows are only available in English.
=> Also see, Streaming vs. Downloading Videos — What’s the Difference? to learn more about streaming media.
“From today onwards, we will listen and we will learn, gradually adding more languages, more content and more ways for people to engage with Netflix,” said Hastings. “We’re looking forward to bringing great stories from all over the world to people all over the world.”
Your Thoughts
Are you a fan of watching streaming media? Are you excited that Netflix is adding 130 more countries to its streaming media service? Has Netflix come to your country yet? If you’re already using Netflix, what shows do you recommend as your favorites?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Voice of America Learning English
If you’re an English learner, be sure to check out my weekly technology column at the website Voice of America Learning English. Articles are written in basic English and an audio podcast is included with each article so you can hear how words are pronounced in the language.
Carolyn Nicander Mohr Personal Technology at Voice of America Learning English
Hi Carolyn,
That would be interesting indeed 🙂
One’s heard so much about Netflix, and mainly from your blog here, but never seen or watched streaming media, so yes, one is excited that Netflix is adding 130 more countries to its streaming media service! I hope our country is added too, so that we can check it out, and perhaps it would as it’s high time now!
Thanks for sharing all the details with us. Have a nice, rest of the week. 🙂
PS – I think the CommentLuv plugin isn’t working 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, Netflix is now in most countries around the world so I hope it’s in your country with shows you want to watch. I remember living in the UK before Netflix was available there and I would have been so happy to have it back then.
Thanks for letting me know about CommentLuv. I will check it out.
Hi Carolyn,
I’ve been a Netflix subscriber for awhile now. I especially like the English mystery
shows. I highly recommend Foyle’s War. It’s been on for 9 seasons now and it’s one of the best you’ll ever watch.
Carlo
Hi Carlo, I hadn’t heard of Foyle’s War. Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll have to check it out.
Hi Carolyn,
First of all thanks for letting us know about Netflix.
i had heard many times in some fb groups about netflix but never tried it, Now as you said that Netflix has adding 130 more countries. and one is my also. Lets see Next when will it available in more languages.
Hi Crics, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad Netflix has arrived in your country. I hope you enjoy it.
You’re right, Netflix expanding to more languages is the next way to make their content available to more people around the world.
Good news for people that don’t have local Netflix because streaming content online is much more convenient than watching DVDs etc. However, the new regions of Netflix will have a maximum number of 500 unique titles which is very low compared to US Netflix (5000 titles). If you want to get a good value for your money, you can use services like Unotelly and access all regions of Netflix. You get about 1000% more content with a minimum cost.
Hello John, I hadn’t heard that about the Netflix titles, but I predict that Netflix will continue to expand its offerings around the world.
I haven’t tried Unotelly yet so I can’t comment on it but thank you very much for the recommendation!
Carolyn,
I do like to watch Netflix now. It took me a while to warm up to the idea but then I witnessed my kids watching every episode of a TV series from beginning to end in the right order. I listened to them talk about things that I never knew happened on a series that I watched on TV. I missed enough episodes that I missed a lot of what was going on and would not pick up on other things because I did not know the background.
My kids finally convinced me to watch my TV shows on Netflix and now I love it.
I don’t know that I need it in other countries but I am sure the people in those countries will enjoy it. Especially the ones that have not had the ability to watch movies in the past because of the expense.
I had no idea that Netflix was in 190 countries.
Thanks for a very informative post.
Dee Ann Rice.
Hi Dee Ann, You’re absolutely right, watching a TV series completely without having to wait between episodes can give you a new appreciation for and understanding of the show. I’m so glad your children were persuasive in getting you to try Netflix!
When I lived in the UK, Netflix wasn’t yet available so I know what it’s like to miss out on it. It’s great that people all over the world will have access to Netflix now!
Even though Netflix is now available in so many countries, I seriously doubt people will switch to it.
Most of the people (probably more than 95% of them) will continue to watch the pirated copies of the full TV shows and movies online for free. Especially in India. I can only hope that someday people realize how much harm it does to the development of the cinema industry.
Thanks for writing this article by the way! 😉
And also, personally, I would recommend switching ‘CommentLuv’ off, because it attract people who comment only to build back links and do not give a shit about the article.
Keep it up! 🙂