Describing 2024 as one of the best years for Netflix India, Monika Shergill, Vice President – Content, talked about the OTT’s new offering of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as well as focusing on the rom-com genre in 2025. Taking a closer look at the streaming space in India, Shergill also discussed the team’s plans for content for a country like India, bundling and the role of AI in content.
It’s been a good year (2024) for Netflix in India. What were the contributors for the shift?
2024 has been one of our strongest years. There were two reasons for this: Heeramandiin the scripted space and The Great Indian Kapil showon the OTT. Heeramandi was designed to be India’s biggest series and it did very well outside India as well. We also tried appointment viewing where we decided “8pm on Saturday is family time on Netflix.” What is really important is diversity. We strongly believe that India’s audience is heterogeneous. Everyone casually uses the phrase “many Indias” but programming to many Indias is not simple. How you program that mix on your slate helps you define what are the new audience cohorts you’re unlocking. For instance, if you look at the South slate — from Guntur Kaaram, Lucky Baskhar, Maharaja, Amaran to Hi Nanna — we look at what works for our audience.
What’s the game plan for 2025?
We plan to have an even more exciting slate this year. Last year, we introduced comedy in a big way with Mamla Legal Hai, and films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. This year, comedy is definitely going to be a big flavor on the service, but we are also introducing rom-coms. So this year, we have four original romcoms, Dhoom Dhaam, Nadaaniyan, Aap Jaisa Koi and The Royals.
How has Netflix performed beyond the metros in India?
Netflix has been growing very healthily across regions. Sometimes, the brand image makes everyone feel that it only works with a certain set of people, particular geographies, etc. We are very successful across tier-two cities. I wouldn’t say we are in tier-three cities in volumes, but that is not our primary objective at this stage of growth.
How has localisation worked for you?
About 70 per cent of all consumption globally on Netflix happens in subs and dubs. It means that content from one country is travelling freely to another country, language and culture. We sub our titles in more than 35 languages and dub them depending on how the titles would track in certain countries. High quality dubbing is the hallmark of why content is travelling so much on Netflix.
Are you planning to experiment with sports streaming or live streaming?
This is going to be a very big year for us because we have a new offering of WWE. Outside of the US, India is the biggest market for WWE and we are bringing the whole suite of live WWE to India with Hindi commentary. It’ll have Raw, SmackDown, NXT, all the specials, all the famed rivalries, storylines and showdowns.
Last year, there were conversations about cutting scenes/parts out of movies. How does this influence your content slate? Do you prioritize certain genres over others?
I think this concern is more rooted in people’s mind than actual practice. We don’t approach our content programming that way. We are excited about ideas, creators and their vision. We are also very mindful about creative expression. What matters most is being responsible in how we tell a story. Inflammatory statements have no place in our content. For us, audience comes first, which means giving the best content without hurting the feelings of the majority. So, such incidents don’t influence us when planning content for the next year.
Are you planning to introduce ad tiers in India this year?
No, we don’t have such plans this year. We rolled it out in 12 markets globally and we are working to deliver scale on those markets. We are working on scaling it up even further but India is a little further down.
Do you plan to introduce more bundles?
Distribution partnerships are very important to us — we are very bullish about them. Our partnerships team is consistently working on new bundles and plans with telcos. The fixed broadband base and the affluent cellular mobile base in India are increasing rapidly, expanding premium time. It’s a very good thing for us as a service because as the premium time expands, our offerings continue to align and grow. So, it’s a good sign for the business, which is why we have such tremendous momentum in our growth. Additionally, the Connected TV market is also rapidly expanding in India.
How do you see AI influencing content?
AI will provide more tools to creators, that is how we see it impacting entertainment. It will make some things simpler, like lighting in complex VFX sequences, etc. How do you match the lighting from outdoor to indoor? What you want to do? How do you convert day to night? It will bring in efficiencies.
Published on February 4, 2025