How election results forced viewers to consume news like prime-time soaps

BJP vs Congress vs Netflix
 

Global media streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have been working overtime to strengthen their foothold in India. Look no farther than their localisation strategy for proof. However, since the four state election results were announced on Tuesday, some social media users have come to believe their content is not a patch on the drama unfolding in the Indian political scene, forcing viewers to consume news like they were prime-time soaps. “Netflix better worry about its growth in Indian market. How will Netflix serials compete with real ‘reality’ in India?” tweeted a fund manager amid the high-drama.

Zomato in soup 

Zomato is in the eye of a storm over a viral video of a delivery partner eating from a packet meant for a customer. The food delivery chain had to move quickly to control damage and posted a blog on, among other things, how it takes food tampering seriously and that it had sacked the erring delivery partner. Last month, the unicorn company was in the news after actor Janhvi Kapoor said on a popular talk show that she looks for dating prospects on the food ordering site. “Marketing money saved for the week. Thank you Janhvi Kapoor,” it had said after the young actor’s comments went viral. But the latest bout of “free publicity is something we could have avoided”, said an investor in the company.