Netflix Sees Strong Growth in India, Highlights Major Q2 Successes

On an overall basis, India was at No. 2 for paid net additions and at No. 3 for revenue percent growth for Netflix in Q2, the streaming giant had mentioned in its quarterly earnings. Big successful titles included Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, at 15 million views, and Amar Singh Chamkila, at 8.3 million views, while licensed films feature Laapataa Ladies and Shaitaan.

In its earnings call, for example, Theodore A. Sarandos, co-CEO, president & director, Netflix, says, “so that feeling like it’s underway in the quarter has been this continually building. We had this great show, Heeramandi. Now Sanjay Leela Bhansali, one of the greatest filmmakers in India, directed this incredibly ambitious series, bringing it to the screen with Netflix, then directing every episode. Actually, it is our largest drama series in India to date. “So on top of that, our original films and our licensed films are films in the pay TV window following theatrical, that continue to thrill our members,” said Sarandos.

Sarandos said there’s plenty of room to grow in India as long as Netflix keeps thrilling the audiences.

“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. I think India’s growth is a story that we see around the world playing out very similarly,” he adds.

On Thursday, Netflix announced its second-quarter earnings. It added 8 million subscribers, making a global subscription base to 278 million. The streaming giant had a net income of $2.1 billion and a revenue of $9.56 billion, 17% above that in the same period of last year. Now, it sees year revenue rising 14-15%.

Greg Peters, co-chief executive, told investors on the earnings call to expect “two hours of viewing per member per day, on average.”.

The Q3 guided forecast sees a 14% growth in revenue, relative to the number of paid net adds being less in comparison to the same quarter of a year ago; it will be lapping the first full-quarter impact of paid sharing once again. Meanwhile, the next quarter’s average revenue per subscriber will come out flat.

As for ad-supported tier, it now commands over 45% of all these sign-ups across the twelve markets where launched.