At first glance, the numbers can feel underwhelming. JioHotstar is about twice Netflix’s size by revenue, and YouTube is about four times larger. The contrast is sharper because “Netflix is the Godzilla of the streaming world”, as Sameer Nair, managing director at Applause Entertainment, puts it. The service kickstarted paid streaming in 2010 and moved into originals in 2013 with *House of Cards*, showcasing the power of on-demand video.
Globally, Netflix is the largest paid-streaming service, with $39 billion in revenues and over 300 million subscribers. But “India is the first market where Netflix is not number one,” says Vivek Couto, chief executive officer and executive director at Media Partners Asia. “Netflix arrived as the original streaming service in India and accelerated the whole move to streaming,” says Nair. Until then, most broadcasters saw YouTube and other online platforms largely as catch-up viewing. At the time, there were barely 100 million unique visitors online, and likely only about half had bandwidth good enough to watch an entire series or film.
The year 2016 — when Netflix and Amazon Prime Video entered India — was also when Jio launched, data prices crashed, and the broadband market took off. Originals such as Sacred Games and licensed series such as Borgen brought a world of choice to a market where television had largely been reduced to saas-bahu serials, thanks to price regulation. Netflix brought India its HBO moment, the phase when premium programming took off.
Viewers who wanted high-quality Indian or global stories signed up at ₹500-800 a month, about two to three times the average price for cable TV. That positioned Netflix firmly as a premium service. “Netflix is a publicly listed American company. That means everything it does has to provide results within a three-month period and in dollars,” says Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at Informa TechTarget. The premium tag suited Netflix, but it also limited it.
YouTube was free, while Amazon Prime Video cost roughly ₹100 a month and offered a wide range of Indian films, along with a strong grip on the burgeoning comedy scene. Despite having one of the best user interfaces in the business, Netflix struggled to scale.
By December 2021 — more than five years after entering India — it had only 5.5 million subscribers. Prime Video had 19 million and Disney+Hotstar 46 million. Netflix then cut prices by 60 per cent and doubled down on a larger local slate. The strategy worked. Titles such as Heeramandi, the Emmy-winning Delhi Crime, and Vir Das: Landing, as well as the National Award-winning Kathal and the Emmy-nominated Amar Singh Chamkila, have brought it both accolades and audiences.
This global recognition — and the showcasing of Indian stories across the 200 countries Netflix reaches — flows naturally from the global nature of its business. But it also reflects what some in the industry describe as a second Netflix effect: The company has invested substantial management time, effort and money in nurturing India’s creative ecosystem.
Its initiatives have included scriptwriting workshops and tieups with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) and government ministries to identify and train Indian talent and spot emerging filmmakers, among other efforts. Since 2018, Netflix has launched over 200 original films and series in India, and has also acquired screening rights for blockbusters such as RRR and Jawaan.
“From 2021 to 2024, our investments in India generated over $2 billion in economic impact. We have filmed across over 100 towns and cities in India and collaborated with over 25,000 local cast and crew,” Co-chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos said at the WAVEs summit in May 2025.
What next? Couto notes that Netflix has also completed a decade in the wider Asia-Pacific region, where it has three strongholds — Japan, India and Korea.
“Japan is way ahead at over $1 billion in revenue, with 12 million customers paying around five times what Indian customers do. Korea feeds the world with content, but it is maturing. India, which is on its way to overtaking China in subscriptions in the next five years, could give Netflix more subscribers than it has anywhere else in the world,” he says.
That helps explain Netflix’s push into sports, broader-appeal programming such as The Great Indian Kapil Show, and more languages. But its biggest lever to drive user numbers — an ad-supported tier — is yet to come.
“At its current scale, rising engagement and an increasingly supportive connected TV (CTV) ecosystem provide the right foundation,” says Shah. He expects the shift towards CTV to drive more family-friendly programming — a prognosis that makes some Netflix enthusiasts groan.
Monika Shergill, vice-president for content, says: “The next phase will be defined by continued innovation, sustained investment, and a deep commitment to our audiences to bring the best entertainment, and to take India to the world.”
 "Monika Shergill, Vice President of Content, Netflix India")