With ‘Heeramandi’, ‘Chamkila', India becomes third country in revenue per cent growth for Netflix in Q2

New Delhi: Propelled by the popularity of titles such as “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar”, “The Great Indian Kapil Show” and “Amar Singh Chamkila”, India has emerged as the third country in revenue per cent growth for streaming service Netflix in its second quarter.

The streamer released its second quarter earnings for 2024 on Thursday evening and Indian content seems to have made significant strides this year alongside popular international shows such as “Bridgerton 3”, “Baby Reindeer”, Korean drama “Queen of Tears” and films such as “Hit Man” and “Under Paris”.

India and the UK have had especially strong slates this year, according to the streamer.

In Q2, India was the second and third country in terms of paid net adds and revenue per cent growth, respectively due to the success of titles like Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar”, which had 15 million views to become the streamer’s biggest Indian drama series ever.

Imtiaz Ali-directed biopic “Amar Singh Chamkila” with 8.3 million views was another major title for Netflix, which also registered success with licensed films such as Kiran Rao’s “Laapataa Ladies” and Ajay Devgn-starrer horror drama “Shaitaan”.

From the UK, “Baby Reindeer”, which has earned 11 Emmy nominations, emerged as the big hit with 88.4 million views. “The Gentlemen”, “One Day” and “Fool Me Once” also spent multiple weeks on the streamer’s global TV top 10 list.

During the company's earnings call with investors, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said "India's growth is a story that we see around the world playing out very similarly".

"So you look at the content, the product market fit is what drives our ability to attract members and retain members and monetise with them as well. I feel like what's going on in the quarter has been this ongoing build," he added.

Sarandos praised Bhansali for making "Heeramandi", a period drama series which featured Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Sharmin Segal.

"SLB is one of the most celebrated filmmakers in India, and he took on this incredibly ambitious series and brought it to screen on Netflix, directed every episode, and it's our biggest drama series to date in India," Sarandos said.

He further said the company's original films as well as the licensed content continue to thrill its subscribers.

"So we pick them well, we program well. We improve the product market fit. We improve engagement, we grow members, we grow our revenue. It's the same formula, I think everywhere we go. And there's certainly plenty of room to grow in India as long as we keep thrilling our audiences there," he added.

Netflix's upcoming line-up for India in 2024 includes non-fiction content such as “Modern Masters feat SS Rajamouli”, “Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale” and “Yo Yo Honey Singh”.

In the fiction space, most anticipated returning titles are “Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein” season two, Taapsee Pannu-Vikrant Massey starrer “Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba”, “The Great Indian Kapil Show S2” and the third season of “Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives”.

Anubhav Sinha’s gripping drama “IC814: The Kandahar Hijack”, “Do Patti”, featuring Kajol and Kriti Sanon, and "Vijay 69” are some of the other projects from India to come out on the streamer this year.