Guess Which Shows Were Netflix Superhits!

‘We delivered a great slate led by Lock Upp, our first daily reality series, which drove the most viewing of any title on Netflix in India ever.’

Key Points

• Netflix India’s revenue grew by 18 per cent on a forex neutral basis in the July-September quarter.
• View hours in India increased by 24 per cent, with view hours per member also showing low-to-mid single-digit growth.
• Strong local content, including Lock Upp and Operation Safed Sagar, significantly contributed to the increased viewership.

Netflix India’s revenue increased 18 per cent on a forex neutral basis in the July-September quarter and view hours in India grew 24 per cent, the OTT platform major said in its shareholder letter late on Tuesday.

The company also said its view hours per member grew low-to-mid single digits in the quarter in India.

Driving Growth in India

It said that combined with its first transaction-based loyalty bundle with Flipkart, Netflix achieved its largest quarter ever of paid net additions in India and grew Q3 (July-September) revenue in India by 18 per cent year on year on a forex neutral basis.

Netflix told its investors that it seeks to accelerate growth in view hours and is confident it will do that by relentlessly focusing and executing against the aforementioned strategy.

‘That confidence comes from seeing strong results when we execute well on our core strategy — our business in India in Q3 is an example. We delivered a great slate led by Lock Upp, our first daily reality series, which drove the most viewing of any title on Netflix in India ever, the new scripted series Musafir 4 Cafe* (9 million) and the hit series Operation Safed Sagar* (11 million),’ it said.

Impact of Local Content and Partnerships

In its earnings call post its results, Gregory K Peters co-CEO, president and director, told its investors that the company has specifically highlighted India, which had a strong slate with a couple of titles really, really performing. And as a result, view hours in Q3 in India grew 24 per cent on an absolute basis.

‘They were also up on a per member basis, all of which drives membership, it drove membership and nearly 20 per cent year-over-year revenue growth. So that’s a great example of how the core model works. We deliver on member value, and we get the business outcomes that we are looking for,’ he added.

In August, Netflix’s Co-CEO Ted Sarandos met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the expanding global influence of Indian storytelling and reaffirm Netflix’s long-term commitment to India’s creative economy and announced the Netflix India Storytelling Initiative.

This is a multi-phase investment in India’s creative talent pipeline and to create partnerships with Indian institutions to help build the next generation of Indian storytelling talent, the company said when Sarandos visited India.

Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff