Netflix India is fully aware about the evolving sentiment of Indian audiences and their acceptance towards diverse entertaining stories even from across the borders. Having this in mind. the video streaming platform has invested aggressively across Indian, international, original as well as licensed content in the past year.

Srishti Behl Arya, Director, International Original Film, Netflix India spoke to BW Marketing World about the impact of second wave on OTT business, what differentiates Netflix from other players and more.

Excerpts: 

Q) How has the pandemic re-defined the OTT industry? 

At Netflix, we’re acutely aware that we are fortunate to have a service that has been meaningful to people confined at home and while the course and impact of the pandemic remains unpredictable, we hope to continue to provide our members with a diverse set of programming through this very difficult time. By helping people connect with stories they love, we are able to provide some comfort and escape as well as a sense of community. 

Q) What overall impact will the second wave have on the business?

Globally, production teams, in particular, went through a tough time with disruption in their schedules. We had a near global shutdown in production, which we've been ramping safely and at scale through much of last year and into this year but it did push some key title launches into the back. Despite this, it has been amazing to see the spirit of the talent and creators we work with as well as our teams to continue bringing stories to our members. Our productions are paused. When it’s safe to start, we  will continue working to create films and series that people enjoy.  

Q) How do you differentiate yourself in a market which continues to see a surge of OTT players? 

Indian audiences have a great appetite for entertainment and are open to experimenting with stories from around the world. We have best in class stories across diverse genres and languages to entertain our members whatever the mood maybe. We are also focused on investing in our product experience to create delightful viewing experiences and deliver the most value to our members. 

Q) Will your focus be on Originals or acquiring movies and licensed content?

We love to invest in original and licensed content, across genres and formats.  We had some near term opportunities to further bolster our slate - but there’s no fundamental change to our strategy - we were already big believers in original films and we’re investing into it. 

This year, our members loved the intergenerational drama, Tribhanga: Tedhi Medhi Crazy, our first Telugu anthology, Pitta Kathalu, and the twisted tales in the anthology, Ajeeb Daastaans. Our members also discovered and fell in love with the inventive storylines of The Girl on the Train as well as Pagglait which came to us in the form of exciting acquisition opportunities and we are thrilled with their response. We have an exciting lineup of films - including The Disciple, Sardar ka Grandson, Haseen Dillruba, Jagame Thandhiram and many more and can’t wait to bring them to our members.

Q) What will stand out for OTT content in 2021?

Great storytelling has always been the beating heart of our society. More than ever, people will look to entertainment - to escape, relax, laugh, be challenged, and bond together with friends and families. Consumer habits have undergone a shift and more audiences will opt for the convenience and choice of streaming their entertainment and they will have more stories to choose from. 

People love great stories and they want to watch them in whatever form, format or language - from Hindi dramas to Tamil thrillers to Korean romcoms to Spanish action dramas. Depending on their mood, we expect audiences to watch a variety of best in class films and series.