iWorld
Netflix adds 2.2 million subs from APAC in Q3 2021
Mumbai: OTT Giant Netflix announced its results for Q3 2021. The company grew its revenues by 16 per cent to $7.5 billion year-on-year and added as many as 4.4 million paid subscribers globally bringing its total subscriber base to 214 million subscribers.
For the second consecutive quarter, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region was the largest contributor to Netflix’s subscriber growth with 2.2 million subscribers coming from this region alone. The streaming giant added 1.8 million subscribers from the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) market.
The company forecasted 8.5 million subscriber additions for Q4 2021.
Netflix also reported that ‘Money Heist- Season five’ and ‘Sex Education- season three’ were two of its biggest returning shows of the quarter reaching 69 million and 55 million households, respectively. Korean drama ‘Squid Game’ became its “biggest TV show ever” by reaching 142-million-member households in its first four weeks of launch. The show has ranked #1 in Netflix’s top ten shows across 94 countries including the US.
The streaming giant said it will shift its metrics to ‘hours viewed’ for its titles rather than the ‘number of accounts that choose to watch them’ later this year.
“There is some difference in rankings but we think engagement, as measured by hours viewed, is a slightly better indicator of the overall success of our titles and member satisfaction,” it said on Wednesday. “We will start to release title metrics more regularly outside of our earnings report so our members and the industry can better measure success in the streaming world.”
Barring unforeseen events that result in large-scale production shutdowns the company anticipates a more normalised production slate for 2022 with even more originals releasing than 2021.
During Q3, Netflix announced its agreement to acquire the Roald Dahl Story Company pending regulatory approval and acquired video game developer Night School Studio.
Netflix also reported that when Facebook experienced a global outage for several hours on 4 October, the streaming platform saw a 14 per cent increase in engagement during that time period.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
