ITV

Tag: Netflix

  • Disney’s global streaming moves impress investors

    Disney’s global streaming moves impress investors

    MUMBAI: Financial analysts  and investors who have been backing the Disney stock are grinning ear to ear following Disney’s 10 December Investor Day announcements. Not only has the mouse house beaten the street’s expectations, it has also whipped its own guidance given to investors as far as its streaming service Disney+ is concerned.

    It announced that it had managed to add 13.1 million subscribers between October 2020 and 2 December 2020 to take Disney+’s tally up to 86.8 million subs. The steroidal performance is eye popping as that’s a target it had set for 2024 when it launched in 2019. Yes, the naysayers may say that the gold standard in streaming, Netflix, is about to touch 200 million subs globally. But remember Disney+ reached the 50 million sign up mark within five months of launch; its October 2020 figure was 73.7 million.

    Here’s more: the media & entertainment behemoth said that it has revised it 2024 outlook for the number of subs to 230-260 million from the 60-90 million it had set for that year during its last Investor Day in April 2019. Dsisney+Hotstar would account for 30-40 per cent of that; equating to 69 million-78 million and 92 million-104 million subs for the Indian streamer.

    Here’s even more: it revealed that it would be upping monthly prices by a single US dollar to $7.99 in the US and to €8.99 in Europe come March 2021.

    Sister services such as Hulu and ESPN+ have also performed notably well. The former which was predicted to hit 40-60 million subscribers by FY2024 announced  a figure of 38.6 million, while ESPN+ registered 11.5 million against its FY2024 guidance of 8-12 million. It has revised its guidance for FY2024 to 50-60 million for Hulu, with profitability expected to come to it a year earlier than guided last year. Its Hulu bundled offerings are also surpassing previous projections. Its Hulu+Live TV package which is priced at $64.99 with ads, and $70.99 with no ads has notched up four million subs.

    Ditto in terms of subscribers for ESPN+; the forecast is that it will cross 20-30 million paid subscribers by end FY2024, and be in the black by 2023.

    In all probability, Hulu will stay put as a US domestic service and Disney will extend the Star brand –  the cash cow in India which it got when it acquired 21st century Fox from the Murdochs – globally. Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Canada and Singapore will get to see Star as a tile in the Disney+ offering along with Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, Star Wars and Marvel. A brand new streaming service branded Star+ is to be launched across Latin America in June 2021 with an entertainment show and live sports programming lineup. Pricing has been put at $7.50 standalone and $9 when bundled with Disney+.

    So enthused has the mouse house’s management  been with Disney+’s performance, it has decided to double its projected spend on content from $4.5 billion for 2024 as estimated during its previous investor day in April 2019 to $8-9 billion. It expected its operating losses to peak between 2020-22; but it now predicts that the landmark will be reached in 2021. The profitability horizon has been maintained as FY 2024.

    Collectively, the Disney team has set itself a target of 300-350 million subscriptions by FY 2024. Will that take it ahead of Netflix as a whole at that time?

    In all probability, yes. With limited headroom for growth from 2022, it’s quite likely that the Reed Hastings-headed streamer will have to work hard to rope in subscribers. Even in India — one of its key growth markets — where it has different subscription slabs in order to lure different income strata in Indian society. Estimates are that Netflix in India has single digit million subscribers. Hedge fund Third Point founder Dan Loeb, who has been constantly cheerleading Disney to invest increasingly in Disney+, should have little reason to complain now that the organisation has pivoted itself around streaming.

    The market responded well to Disney’s Investor Day announcement. The stock was trading at a high of $173.96 against the previous day’s close of $154.69.

  • Netflix India shares what worked for the platform in 2020

    Netflix India shares what worked for the platform in 2020

    NEW DELHI: Since its launch in 2016, Netflix has been making substantial inroads in India. Initially, despite having a massive content library, it would still lose out to rival streaming services because of its pricier subscription plans. With the twin aims of retaining users after the one-month free trial and widening its subscriber base, Netflix last year introduced its mobile membership plan, priced at only Rs 199 per month.

    In its last earnings call, the CEO of the streaming platform  stated that India is a priority market for them. It has been working tirelessly to attract Indian audiences to sample the platform. A week ago, Netflix held StreamFest, where it offered free access to its content across the country with the objective to create buzz and get newer audiences.

    The streaming platform also has an extremely active social media platform that continuously keeps the audiences engaged with its witty and funny tweets, YouTube community posts and collaborations with influential Indian vloggers and content creators.

    In a recent blogpost, Netflix India VP content Monika Shergill shared some insights into ‘What India Watched in 2020.'

    She began with stating that India has the highest viewership of films on the platform globally. “It’s no surprise that we love films in India. India has the highest viewing of films on Netflix globally and over the last year, 80 per cent of our members in India chose to watch a film every week.”

    While Extraction, Malang and The Old Guard were the most popular action films, Raat Akeli Hai was the thriller that kept audiences on the edge of their seats.

    “Ludo was the most popular comedy film. Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (Telugu), Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal (Tamil), Kappela (Malayalam), and Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya (Telugu) are among many other films that featured in India’s Top 10 row,” she added.

    There is no doubt that OTT platforms have created a level playing field for the new talent in the industry. Netflix’s original shows and movies include top actors and fresh blood.  

    Shergill shone the light on strong female leads that viewers admired. “We gravitated towards stories with strong female characters across genres and formats. The inspiring story, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, was the most popular drama film in 2020. The other popular films and series in India this year included Guilty, Masaba Masaba, Bulbbul, She, Miss India, Never Have I Ever and Emily in Paris,” she wrote.

    “Talented new actors became the face of clever scammers in Jamtara: Sabka Number Aayega. This thriller became the Indian title to feature the longest on the Top 10 row in India. And we saw one of our favourite actors return as Ayyan Mani in Serious Men, one of the most popular drama films this year. Confused because your fan loyalties may be shifting? Well, you are not alone,” added Shergill. 

    Shergill went on to note that the viewing for non-fiction series on Netflix in India grew more than 250 per cent in 2020 over 2019.

    “The most popular non-fiction shows that got us hooked were Too Hot to Handle, Indian Matchmaking and the recently released Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. Documentary viewing also grew more than 100 per cent in 2020 over 2019, and Bad Boy Billionaires, The Social Dilemma and Money Heist: The Phenomenon were the most popular documentaries on Netflix in India this year,” read the blog by Shergill.

    As they say, all we need is love. Shergill mentioned that Love Aaj Kal, Ginny Weds Sunny and Mismatched were some of the most popular romantic films and series that made us swoon this year. “In 2020, the viewing for romantic stories on Netflix in India increased by roughly 250 per cent compared to 2019,” added Shergill.

    In the kids genre, she wrote that the viewing of kids titles increased more than 100 per cent in India in 2020 over 2019.

    “The kids adored traveling to outer space with Over The Moon, which was the most popular kids’ title on Netflix in India in 2020. The kids also loved to discover the meaning of a family with The Willoughbys and Boss Baby: Back in Business (S4) and grooved with Feel the Beat. Special mention to the lovable Mighty Little Bheem (S3) that featured in the top 10 lists in the most number of countries globally,” she stated. 

    Great stories can come from anywhere. Indian audiences also keenly watched a lot of international content across languages. “This year, we explored stories from around the world, making the best use of subtitles and dubs. The German series Dark made our world go forward and back and then back and forward and then some, and the Spanish series Money Heist, made us wish that we were in the bank when Tokyo, Berlin, the Professor and many others took over. Dark was on the top 10 row in India for 95 days and Money Heist featured on our top 10 row for 170 days. The Turkish series The Protector is among the most popular titles in the fantasy genre this year and was also the non-Indian, non-English title that was viewed the most with subtitles and/or dubs. Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back-Evolution, Blood of Zeus and One-Punch Man (S2) were the most popular anime titles in India this year.” 

    Interestingly, the viewing for K-dramas on Netflix in India increased more than 370 per cent in 2020 over 2019, shared Shergill. Some of the most popular K-titles in India included The King: Eternal Monarch, Kingdom (S2), It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and Start-up.

    The platform is growing massively in India and is teaming up with multiple partners to bundle its offerings. It is working to make  payment processing easier and seamless. Overall, the company added 2.2 million subscribers worldwide in the quarter ended 30 September.

  • Brand Twitter describes 2020 in one word

    Brand Twitter describes 2020 in one word

    NEW DELHI: As 2020 draws to a close (finally!), many are convinced it was a cursed year, when everything that could, did go wrong, and there was little cause for cheer. Of course, most of the blame was apportioned to the Covid2019 pandemic, but there were challenges on several other fronts too – which impacted the environment, people and businesses. So when Twitter’s official handle said to describe ‘2020 in one word’ and put it out in the universe, everyone had a lot to say. And Brand Twitter wasn’t far behind in expressing its thoughts on ‘the worst year in recent memory.’

    While some brands were all for the year to be over and done with…

    Windows

    Adobe

    YouTube

    Subway

    Others had a rather existentialist view of things…

    Netflix

    LEGO

    Zoom

    Microsoft Edge

    A few tried to look on the bright side…

    Shaadi.com

    Kerala Tourism

    Dolby India

    Meanwhile, Thrive Global founder & CEO Arianna Huffington has chosen ‘resilience’ as her word of the year. Resilience, or the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, “is the quality that was summoned in us by all the challenges of 2020. It’s also the quality that’s going to carry us forward into 2021,” writes Huffington. And that’s a word to live by.

  • Disney+ captures 1.2 million Nordic homes in 12 months

    Disney+ captures 1.2 million Nordic homes in 12 months

    NEW DELHI: Netflix and Disney+ have been massive hits in the Nordic market, attracting half of more than three million additional streaming subscriptions purchased in the last 12 months, as revealed by a recent Mediavision report. Disney+ alone has been subscribed by close to 1.2 million Nordic households, rendering a household penetration of 10 per cent in the region. 

    The rapid growth of Disney+ has outperformed all other competitors thus far, and the service has immediately climbed up the Nordic top-5 list – joining Netflix, Viaplay, HBO Nordic and C More.

    Local Nordic streaming actors have also grown substantially, with approximately 1.5 million added subscriptions collectively. Each Nordic country has at least one local streaming service. In total, these homegrown services now amass more than 5.6 million subscriptions.

    The biggest player is Viaplay, partly explained by it being available in all four Nordic countries. Among the strictly domestic services, TV2 Play in Denmark is the largest, followed by TV2 Sumo in Norway.

    Nordic households have also increased their spend on paid streaming. This entails that a paying streaming household now spent approximately 19 euros per month for an average of 2.1 services in fall of 2020. This represents an increase in spending of approximately 10 per cent in one year.

    The Nordic market today boasts of 13.6 million subscriptions in total. 

  • High-end TV production spend in the UK hits £2.6bn in 2019

    High-end TV production spend in the UK hits £2.6bn in 2019

    MUMBAI: 2019 has seen a significant boost in high-end television productions made in the UK. The UK ‘high end’ TV 2014-2019 report by analyst Ben Keen states that investment in UK shows using the high-end TV tax credit has doubled since 2014. Spend per hour is up: Average spend/hour has risen by 60 per cent since average budget allotted to shows has nearly doubled – partly due to average number of hours per show increasing substantially.

    There has beena 56 per cent increase in HETV productions commissioned solely by streamers in 2019. Number of shows with third party involvement, or co-commissions, has nearly doubled, up 17 per cent. In fact,third parties now contribute more to thefunding of Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) dramas than PSBsthemselves. The trend shows no sign of slowing.
    Owing to this spike in collaboration between traditional broadcasters and SVoDs, investment in UK TV dramas has more than doubled since 2014, hitting a record high of £2.6 billion (US$3.5 billion)in 2019, up 31 per cent from 2018 and over 3X the 2014 total.

    Sole commissions have also increased across the sector, with PSBs, pay-TV operators and SVoD streamers all increasing activity. The BBC alone commissioned 26 HETV shows.

    Number of shows per year is up 25 per cent since 2014, and total number of HETV productions rose 19 per cent to 142last year. Hours made per year increased 59 per cent since 2014.

    The report states that co-commissioning is more important for drama HETV productions than any single broadcaster or streaming platform. Amazon, AMC, Netflix, PBS, HBO & Hulu have been the most important partners for PSB productions; 28 different partners since 2014. 

    Streamers like Amazon, Netflix & Hulu have become increasingly important partners for PSB drama productions. Netflix participation in PSB co-commissioning peaked in 2017, but active in 2019 with four in year-to-date. 


     
    The report further highlights that third parties – like global streamers have become increasingly important to funding of PSB dramas via co-commissioning. A record £664million was invested in making original PSB drama last year, but 56 per cent was contributed by third parties – like global streamers. As a result, original drama hours on PSB channels have stabilised since HETV tax break was introduced in 2014.

    The average spend per hour for all HETV productions has increased, jumping almost 60 per cent to £4.1m last year. However, total number of screen hours of HETV productions fell to 643 – fewer than in 2016.
    On the other hand, with their production budgets boosted by higher third-party spending, PSBs themselves actually reduced their direct spend per hour by £45,000, while increasing the hours of drama they were able to air compared with 2018.
     

  • StreamFest is here for Indians to ‘Netflix & Chill’

    StreamFest is here for Indians to ‘Netflix & Chill’

    KOLKATA: The much-hyped Netflix StreamFest is finally here. The global streaming giant is offering Indian users free access to its vast content portfolio during this weekend (5-6 December).

    "At Netflix, we want to bring the most amazing stories from across the world to all fans of entertainment in India. It's why we're hosting StreamFest: an entire weekend (5 December 12.01am – 6 December 11.59pm) — of free Netflix," Netflix India vice president (content) Monika Shergill said in a blogpost.

    Non-subscribers to Netflix can sign up with their name, email or phone number, and password and start streaming without any payment. However, those who sign up for StreamFest will get access to only one stream in standard definition. This has been done to ensure everyone who comes in gets the best experience.

    "So, during StreamFest, if you see a message saying ‘StreamFest is at capacity’, don't worry. We'll let you know as soon as you can start streaming," Shergill noted.

    Netflix has been promoting StreamFest aggressively through television and its social media platforms for over a month. It has released ad films featuring Anil Kapoor, Yami Gautam, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. A recent promotional video featuring prominent content creators including Tanmay Bhat, YouTuber Ashish Chanchalani, former FilterCopy actors Ahsaas Channa and Aisha Ahmed, and vlogger Kusha Kapila was released on social platforms.

    “That’s right, it’s time to cancel your plans and settle in to watch Netflix. We don’t need any payment details – just your love and undivided attention,” the streaming service said on its website.

    “We think that giving everyone in a country access to Netflix for free for a weekend could be a great idea to expose a bunch of new people to the amazing stories we have and hopefully get a bunch of them to sign up. We will try that in India and we will see how that goes,” Netflix COO and chief products officer Greg Peters said earlier in an earnings call.

    Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani said this is a good marketing strategy and a mode of substitution to the monthly free trial which Netflix used to offer earlier. According to him, Netflix has to get new subscribers at the end of the day through some kind of free trial. He added that two days is ample for users to sample a good amount of content. Taurani noted that the streaming giant has to keep rolling out such attractive promotion plans to increase its subscriber base.

  • A R Rahman roped in as BAFTA Breakthrough India ambassador

    A R Rahman roped in as BAFTA Breakthrough India ambassador

    MUMBAI: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced that applications are now open for BAFTA Breakthrough India, supported by Netflix. The initiative marks BAFTA‘s first steps into India, showcasing and supporting the next generation of creative talent in film, games and television globally alongside the UK, USA and China.

    It also named A R Rahman as the ambassador for BAFTA Breakthrough India 2020-21. This association with Rahman marks the continued development of creative relationships between the UK and India, enabling and supporting collaboration between the two nations and showcasing the incredible talent India has to offer across different regions on a global scale.  

    BAFTA Breakthrough ambassador and composer A R Rahman  said: “I am happy to be working with BAFTA to discover some of the amazing talent that India has to offer in film, games and television. This is a unique opportunity for promising artists to be supported by a world-renowned organisation, to not only make connections with other talented creatives across the world but to be mentored by BAFTA winners and nominees. I am looking forward to seeing the brilliant talent chosen from India to be showcased on a global stage.”

    “We are absolutely delighted to be opening Breakthrough applications in India for the first time,” BAFTA chief executive Amanda Berry OBE added. “I am also incredibly grateful for the invaluable support of our brilliant ambassador A R Rahman, an industry leader in his creative work and someone who shares our passion for identifying and nurturing new talent.  He is well positioned to support the initiative, with his broad spectrum of work drawing recognition across Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films, which will help BAFTA to appeal to a wide section of the industry.”

    As part of BAFTA Breakthrough India, a jury of British and Indian industry experts will select five talents from across India to take part in the year-long mentoring and guidance program. The chosen participants will receive one-to-one mentoring, global networking opportunities, free access to BAFTA events and screenings for 12 months, and full voting BAFTA membership. The chosen talent will also connect with and learn from some of the best in the British and Indian creative industries, share their expertise with peers around the world, gain access to opportunities beyond geographical borders, and be promoted as BAFTA breakthrough artists globally.  

    BAFTA Breakthrough selects talent through a cross-industry jury of leading professionals, hand-picked to ensure a diverse selection of experienced voices. Jurors for the UK & US cohorts included Fiona Shaw (actress), Paapa Essiedu (actor), Edward Enninful (editor-in-chief – British Vogue), Jodie Azhar (game developer) and Kate Townsend (director) to name a few. The 2020 Jurors for Breakthrough India are still to be announced.

    BAFTA Breakthrough, launched globally in May 2020 and previously known as Breakthrough Brits, has been running in the UK since 2013 and in China since 2019, but this year marks the first time the initiative is recognising talent globally across the UK, US, India and China.

    This year’s BAFTA Breakthrough global participants will be celebrated and showcased together in 2021. The initiative will continue to use digital communications in the coming months to enhance cross-cultural networking across the globe.

    Netflix is the official supporting partner for BAFTA Breakthrough, in the UK, USA and India, providing integral support in the global expansion.

  • Swati Mohan quits Netflix India

    Swati Mohan quits Netflix India

    KOLKATA: Netflix India marketing director Swati Mohan has moved on from the organisation. She spearheaded the streaming giant’s marketing strategy at a very crucial time and led several big campaigns.

    She spent over two years at the organisation.

    Back in 2018, Mohan resigned from her position at Nat Geo and Fox Networks Group as India country head to join Netflix 

    (http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/people/swati-mohan-quits-nat-geo-to-join-netflix-180508).

    Under her leadership, National Geographic too underwent a rebranding exercise in 2016. This was a part of a global exercise that took place.

    Mohan has over 18 years of experience in the industry, with a wide spectrum of work across companies, including Group M, O&M, FBC Media and Endemol.

  • Netflix India draws ire over a scene in A Suitable Boy

    Netflix India draws ire over a scene in A Suitable Boy

    KOLKATA: Netflix India has landed in yet another controversy – this time, over a kissing scene in the series A Suitable Boy. The sequence depicting a Hindu girl kissing a Muslim boy against the backdrop of a Hindu temple seems to have offended a section of viewers as well as right-wing political leaders.

    The outrage is not limited to #boycott anymore. Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing leader Gaurav Tiwari filed a police complaint about the drama for “shooting kissing scenes under temple premises.” The complaint named Netflix India VP content Monica Shergill and public policy director Ambika Khurana. According to Tiwari, the show encourages ‘love jihad’.

    Narottam Mishra, the minister of home affairs in the government of Madhya Pradesh, also said on Twitter that he has asked the police to examine this controversial content. "This has extremely objectionable content which hurts the sentiments of people of a particular religion,"  Mishra commented.

    A Suitable Boy is based on a 1993 novel by Vikram Seth and revolves around a young Hindu woman struggling with her mother's edict that she must soon be wed. The six-part series, originally produced by the BBC, is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, who is known for her big screen ventures like The Namesake, Queen of Katwe, and Monsoon Wedding.

    This isn’t the first time the streaming giant has found itself in hot water with Indian audiences. Calls of #BoycottNetflix did the rounds on social media over the Telugu film Krishna and His Leela, apparently for associating the names of Hindu deities with erotic content. Deepa Mehta’s web-series Leila also stoked controversy, with naysayers claiming the show was propagating ‘Hinduphobia’. More recently, it was embroiled in a legal tussle over its documentary Bad Boy Billionaires when the fugitive moguls featured in the series challenged its broadcast in court.

    The timing of the outcry is also to be noted, coming on the back of a recent government notification bringing content on OTT platforms under the regulatory ambit of the ministry of information and broadcasting.

  • Vidnet attendee Richie Mehta wins Emmy for Delhi Crime

    Vidnet attendee Richie Mehta wins Emmy for Delhi Crime

    MUMBAI: Netflix series Delhi Crime won the Best Drama Series at the 2020 International Emmy Awards. The series features Shefali Shah, Rasika Dugal, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang in key roles and is based on the Delhi police' painstaking investigation in the 16 December 2012 gang rape case in the capital.

    The show has been directed by Richie Mehta. The director in his acceptance speech, paid tribute to the victim and her mother.

    This is the first time that an Indian series has won at the International Emmys.

    He said, “I dedicate this award to all the women who not just endure the violence that so many men inflict on them, but are then tasked to solve the problem. Finally, to the tireless mother, and her daughter. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about you both and what the world subjected you two to. And I hope none of us ever forget that.”

    Shefali Shah, who played the lead role of Vartika Chaturvedi in Delhi Crime, shared her excitement over the big win on twitter.

     

     

    Other actors such as Adil Hussain and Rajesh Tailang too took to Twitter to celebrate the big day.