Netflix and PHL: Are we ready for it?

The global launch of Netflix early Thursday in the Philippines marks the beginning of many a sleepless night for Filipino movie mavens and sci-fi and comic book geeks everywhere.

But whether that time will be spent watching movies or just waiting for movies to download remains to be seen.

Global demand for Netflix

Video streaming company Netflix Inc launched its services in 130 countries, covering almost the entire globe except China, as part of efforts to counter slowing growth in the United States.

The company, whose services were available in more than 60 countries before the global launch, had previously said it aimed to reach 200 countries by the end of 2016.

Netflix, which has been spending aggressively to expand globally, has said it planned to "run around break-even through 2016" and then deliver profits.

"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. 

High Philippine demand

That demand is particularly high in the Philippines, thanks to a public starved for streaming videos.

Well before Neflix's arrival, rival services such as HOOQ and iFlix already established a foothold in the country and continue to hold their ground.

Meanwhile, the Filipino public at large is already primed for streaming content, thanks to YouTube being a common and frequent destination for online Pinoys.

In 2015 alone, YouTube touted itself as the world's third most visited website next to Google and Facebook.

Netflix itself already has an eager local audience: longtime Filipino fans of science fiction shows and serial dramas—such as Jessica Jones, DareDevil, and The Blacklist—welcomed with open arms the promise of easier access to a broad range of international content.

PHL's dismal Internet service

It remains to be seen, however, if the country's poor Internet service can keep up with the jump in demand for Netflix and other streaming video services.

In 2015 alone, the Philippines was found to have one of the worst Internet download speeds in Asia; the only country worse off was war-torn Afghanistan.

Internet metrics company Ookla showed that the Philippines had an average Internet speed of just 3.64 Mbps, whereas Netflix itself recommends a minimum streaming speed of at least 3 Mbps for SD quality video, to say nothing of HD and Ultra HD videos.

Furthermore, the consistency of telcos' connections remains a large problem in the Philippines—so much so that government intervention has been urged to force telcos to commit to declaring and delivering a minimum acceptable broadband speed.

Free Netflix

At least for now, Netflix's service is free for everyone.

Netflix Philippines is currently offering a free one-month trial for all its subscription plans. After February 7, subscribers will be charged a minimum of P370 per month for the basic plan, up to P550 for the premium tier:

 — With a report from Reuters, GMA News