Netflix has significantly strengthened its commitment to India’s entertainment industry, generating a $2 billion economic impact and creating over 20,000 jobs through its Indian productions since 2021. The announcement was made by Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix, at the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai.
Highlighting India’s growing global influence in storytelling, Sarandos revealed that Indian content garnered over 3 billion hours of watch time globally in 2023, with at least one Indian title featured in Netflix’s global top 10 every week. This surge in global viewership has been driven by 150 original Indian films and series shot across 100 cities and towns in the country.
Sarandos credited Sacred Games as a turning point, proving that Indian stories can transcend borders and resonate with global audiences. He emphasized Netflix’s enduring collaboration with Indian creators and its role in enabling long-form, in-depth storytelling that challenges conventional formats.
Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, who joined the session, echoed these views, calling streaming platforms “liberating” for actors and storytellers. He highlighted the untapped potential of Indian epics and folklore for global audiences, praising streaming as a medium that allows deeper character exploration and more ambitious narratives.
Both Sarandos and Khan agreed that cinema and streaming can co-exist, especially in a cinema-loving country like India, where audiences are embracing diverse storytelling formats.