In Asia, Netflix trips on content and competition

Seoul

MONTHS after its global rollout, Netflix Inc is facing problems in several major Asian markets as it struggles to provide enough strong content to attract consumers amid tough local competition, and also faces many regulatory hurdles, underlining concerns about disappointing subscriber numbers reported last week.

From complaints that programming libraries offered in many countries are far smaller than in the United States to delays in offering its signature House of Cards series in some markets due to rights issues, the US video streaming giant's January launch into 130 new markets worldwide, including a slew in Asia, has been bumpy.

When it launched in Indonesia in January, for example, Netflix ran afoul of the film censorship board for carrying content deemed inappropriately violent or sexual. The communications ministry also demanded that …