Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos defends platform going massy with CID, Kapil Sharma show: 'We're broadening the offering'
When Netflix first arrived in India, it only had original programming originating in the US and Europe, such as House of Cards, along with licensed TV shows and movies. Over the years, Netflix built a bank in India and greenlit scores of shows and films in local languages, from Hindi to Tamil and more. But over the last year or so, there has been concern among some brand 'loyalists' if Netflix is going too massy in the country. (Also read: Crime Patrol debuts on Netflix after CID, fans predict Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah will be next)
Netflix brought Kapil Sharma, the popular primetime comedian, with his own show, onto the platform in 2024. Soon after, it bought the streaming rights of late-night TV hits CID and Crime Patrol as well. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos addressed bringing these massy shows onto the platform recently. Speaking on Nikhil Kamath's WTF podcast, he said, 'That's the beauty of the personalisation work we've been doing since the company began—we're not doing those shows instead of doing other shows. We're doing them in addition to everything else. So if you like those kinds of shows, that's what you'll see on Netflix. If you don't, you'll see something else. We're broadening the offering, not narrowing it.'
When asked what Netflix has found works in India the best, Sarandos added, 'From Japanese anime to all kinds of different things that you would not expect would work very well in India, work very well. The audience here is very hungry for diverse storytelling from around the world. They love Bollywood, they love South Indian action movies for sure, but they are far more adventurous as viewers than I expected.'
The Great Indian Kapil Show began streaming on Netflix in March 2024. It has since streamed 26 episodes over two seasons. The third season will premiere on the platform later this month. Earlier this year, Netflix began to stream popular Sony TV crime thriller CID and the true crime show Crime Patrol as well. The two shows, along with Kapil Sharma's previous talk shows, have been among the most watched on Indian TV for over a decade.
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