Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is making significant strides in its expansion within India by entering into a creative partnership with Friday Storytellers LLP, the digital content production arm of Friday Filmworks, led by renowned director Neeraj Pandey. This collaboration marks a notable step for Netflix’s engagement in the Indian market.
The partnership between Netflix and Neeraj Pandey has previously resulted in the successful cop-thriller series “Khakee: The Bihar Chapter,” which enjoyed a prominent spot among India’s top ten TV shows for over five months. The show’s popularity extended further as it became one of the longest-trending series on Netflix in India. As part of this extended collaboration, the second season of “Khakee” will serve as the flagship series.
Netflix’s strategic focus on developing region-specific content has played a pivotal role in attracting a growing subscriber base. Beyond “Khakee: The Bihar Chapter,” the streaming giant has introduced an array of captivating shows tailored to the Indian audience. Titles like “Guns & Gulaabs,” “The Hunt for Veerappan,” “Choona,” “Kohrra,” “Lust Stories 2,” “Scoop,” “Rana Naidu,” “Class,” and “Mission Majnu” have further enriched Netflix’s offerings.
Set to debut on September 1, “Friday Night Plan,” featuring Babil Khan and Amrith Jayan, is anticipated to captivate audiences. Additionally, the mystery thriller “Do Patti,” starring Kajol and Kriti Sanon in lead roles, has been announced for release.
On a global scale, Netflix’s commitment to diversifying its original content is evident through its investment in foreign-language productions. Projects such as “Cigarette Girl” (Indonesian), “Baby Fever” (Danish), “King the Land” (Korean), “Sleeping Dog” (German), and “The Surrogacy” (Mexican) exemplify the streaming platform’s dedication to catering to diverse audiences.
In a recent revelation, Netflix unveiled its maiden Korean-language animated film, “Lost in Starlight,” featuring renowned K-drama stars Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung lending their voices to the lead roles of astronaut Nan-young and musician Jay.
Amidst intense competition from industry counterparts like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Disney (NYSE:DIS), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix has garnered significant viewership for its foreign language-based content. This has contributed to the platform’s impressive acquisition of 5.89 million paid subscribers globally during the second quarter of 2023.
Promising Outlook for Netflix in 2023
Netflix’s stocks have demonstrated remarkable growth, surging by 40.1% year-to-date While outperforming Apple and Disney, Netflix’s performance trails behind that of Amazon. Year-to-date returns for Apple and Amazon stand at 36.4% and 59.8% respectively, while Disney’s shares have witnessed a decline of 1.3%.
Netflix stands to benefit from its diversified content portfolio, a result of substantial investments in localized, foreign-language content production and distribution. With the launch of paid sharing, Netflix foresees a surge in revenue growth during the latter half of 2023. However, the platform expects average revenues per membership to remain relatively stable on a year-over-year basis, citing limited price adjustments and modest advertising and paid-sharing revenues over the past year.
Notably, Netflix has discontinued its basic ad-free plan for new and returning members in Canada and plans to extend this change to U.K. and U.S.-based subscribers.
Anticipating the third quarter of 2023, Netflix forecasts earnings of $3.52 per share, reflecting an approximate 10% rise from the previous year’s quarter. Projected total revenues of $8.52 billion indicate a 7% year-over-year growth, both on a foreign-exchange-neutral basis.
The anticipated quarterly operating margin stands at 22.2%, marking an increase from the 19.8% reported during the same quarter of the previous year.
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