Netflix launches in 130 countries, including Turkey

ISTANBUL/LOS ANGELES

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings delivers a keynote address at CES 2016 at The Venetian Las Vegas on January 6, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP Photo

Netflix Inc’s video-streaming service went live in more than 130 countries, including Turkey, on Jan. 6, covering almost the entire globe except China as part of a huge global push by Chief Executive Reed Hastings to counter slowing growth in the United States.

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

India, Nigeria, Russia and Saudi Arabia were among the major countries where the service was launched, Hastings said at a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Netflix, which had expanded into more than 60 countries before the launch, previously said it aimed to reach 200 countries by the end of 2016.

However, all shows will not be available immediately to some Netflix fans.

“We’re moving as quickly as we can to have global availability of all the content on Netflix,” Hastings said at a press conference after his speech, as quoted by Reuters. 

U.S. government restrictions on American companies mean Netflix will not be available in Crimea, North Korea and Syria.

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

In Turkey, the monthly subscription fee for the “Basic Package” will start at 26.99 Turkish Liras. The subscription fee in the standard package is 33.99 liras in Turkey. For the premium package, subscribers will pay 40.99 liras, according to Turkish technology magazine Chip. 

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

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