Eight years on, is Netflix really turning a corner in India?

After a few quarters of sluggish subscriber growth in 2023, Netflix seems to have turned a corner this year, clocking handsome net subscriber additions in the first six months. In the April-June quarter (Q2 2024), the global streaming major added 8.05 million new paying subscribers, taking its total audience base up to 278 million.

Of this, 2.83 million users were added in the Asia-Pacific region (which includes India), making it the largest geography in terms of net additions for the streamer. While Netflix does not divulge country-specific numbers, company co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed in a post-earnings call that India had emerged as the company’s second-largest market in terms of paid subscriber additions in the June quarter. 

Additionally, India also generated the third-highest revenue growth in percentage terms for Netflix in Q2 2024, driven by a strong line-up of original shows and licensed theatrical films. 

Outlining the positive impact of local language content, Sarandos stated that the programming Netflix creates in India is “designed to thrill the local audience”. “And when they really, really thrill the local audience, there’s a possibility and sometimes a probability that they could find a gigantic audience all over the world, including in North America,” he explained.