Dissatisfied with the underwhelming performance of its Indian originals, Netflix is reportedly planning to shift its content strategy to focus more on tentpole films in order to gain new subscribers and retain existing ones.
Indian films like RRR and Gangubai Kathiawadi have performed well on the platform. Furthermore, Indian films are frequently featured in Netflix’s global non-English top ten weekly lists. Meanwhile, no Indian original series has recently appeared on this list.
According to Mint, the streaming platform has cancelled some original shows in the development and shooting stages because it does not see these bets paying off. According to industry insiders, the Indian content budget has been reduced by 35%-40%.
“There has been a de-escalation of India in the global scheme of things, and the sense is that a lot of local originals are not meeting quality standards,” the report quoted a senior film producer as saying.
Netflix is increasingly adopting Amazon Prime Video’s strategy of placing large bets on the biggest movie titles.
Despite the fact that Netflix is still struggling to find the right positioning in India, co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently stated that the India is the company’s fastest-growing market.
In 2022, Netflix saw a 30% increase in engagement and watch time, as well as a 25% increase in revenue, according to Sarandos.
He also stated that the Indian films RRR and Gangubai Kathiawadi, both of which are currently available on Netflix, were breakout successes in Western markets. According to the company, RRR received over 73 million hours of watch time on Netflix in the first four weeks of its release. Similarly, Gangubai clocked more than 50 million hours in its first six weeks of availability.
In addition to international competitors such as Amazon Prime Video and Disney+Hotstar, Netflix competes in India with domestic players such as Zee5, Voot, and MX Player, as well as regional players such as Hoichoi and Aha.
According to a report by RBSA Advisors, India’s video OTT market is expected to reach a size of $12.5 billion by 2030 from about $1.5 billion in 2021 on the back of access to better networks, digital connectivity and smartphones.
