When NETFLIX wondered where they went wrong with their India Strategy, Twittrategist ( Strategists on Twitter) went on overdrive to tell the brand what was wrong with its approach to Indian markets. It made an interesting read.
You must someday try harnessing the power of social-media strategists? Trust me, they have the answer for everything, from national defence, secularism, regionalism, religionism, law and order. They even have comments, suggestions, recommendations on brand mistakes, oversights, hindsight, complaints, trolls, solutions, possibilities, and potential. If only someone is willing to filter out the sarcastic, poison-tipped comments and read between the lines- there is something.
Netflix had a tough 2021, adding only 18 million subscriptions, down nearly 50%. Shares fell 20% and wiped out $45 billion in market value. Reed Hastings said, “The thing that frustrates us is why we haven’t been more successful in India.” And this tweet by The @theSignaldotco was an invitation enough for people to tell the truth.
Maybe Amazon, Prime Videos, Voot, ‘Disney+Hotstar’ could do themselves a favour in reading these comments.
The Content Card.
There was enough angst against the content, which was branded as WOKE and addressing a niche audience. It was branded anti-Hindu and considered to disrespect the community. Shows by Veer Das, Radhika Apte, Karan Johar, Kunal Kamra, Swara Bhaskar and more were used as an example to make the point.
This is a piece of advice that resonates through the comments. Netflix should use common sense rather than woke sense, and they will succeed. Look at HotStar, selling traditional saas-bahu serials in droves. Ramayana telecast during Lockdown. Whereas the shows on Netflix on Bose and Bhagat Singh centred and showed the most problematic aspects of their ideology.
Will Netflix bid for IPL. Maybe maybe not. Will they win? Definitely not. And the difference will remain.
Hindu phobic Content.
Being Woke is taken too seriously. And the result is simple, Hindu phobic content in comedy in series and cinema. Hindus are still the majority of the nation, and why would they watch content that abuses their religion and country. Personally, don’t think there is too much of it- but balance is always better.
Lack Of Indianisation.
Viewers, and the claimed viewers, questioned s lack of Indianisation of content. Instead of sounding threatening, they were surprised that Netflix missed the trick.
Pepsi offered Kurkure. McDonald Aloo Tikki Burger. Kellogg offered Upma! K and KFC offered Tandoori zinger burger!
Why is Netflix taking so long to realise what the entertainment pallet needs in India to survive?
The Hindi content library is tiny- forget the regionalisation of content.
The Twittrategist (suggest that Netflix should look inwards. Instead of asking what could be wrong with Indians and why don’t they subscribe to Netflix, it will be far better to ask; why should they subscribe? or what will make them subscribe to Netflix? What is the real competitive offer? What are the consumer options, and What have we done positively constructively to get the subscription.
The Price Point.
Netflix treated itself as a Hollywood Hungama and a premium platform. However, you need premium content catering to the audience to be the premium platform. Not the content that may be premium outside the market in question.
Netflix does not seem to know the competitors’ price points. They can’t afford this niche pricing with Woke-centric programming and look for mass subscriptions.
In the case of Prime, there is more to it- like the free delivery.
Only accepting monthly charges is the wrong strategy in India. India looks for discounts, and entertainment brands should look for a long term commitment. Netflix should be ready for further cancellation with the problems with recurring payments.
A charge of INR 499-699 per month is high, and INR 149/- per month for mobile-only access to Netflix is the costliest of all. The subscriber needs to subscribe to other channels and OTT- And in that case, they will first drop Netflix and not Prime or Disney+Hotstar. It is a no brainer.
Suppose you really want to exploit the pyramid for subscribers. In that case, you need a competitive price, more so when your content is really not competitive enough.
Will being part of more OTT aggregator hubs make sense? Don’t know; till now, it has been more of the lone ranger ride for Netflix. Netflix that way does not come across as a platform- but just yet another channel. And now it is available on Tata Play too.
Dub Vs Subtitles.
Many platforms give this option of language subtitles, but it definitely spoils the experience. The strategists here suggested a DUB better than the SUBTITLE. And many sites the cinema release of Made in language Vs Subtitle success is a case in point.
Family Is Watching.
The Twittrategist see a high dose of adult or 18+ content with cuss words on Netflix. Now that TV screens are again becoming the platform for collective family watching, such content becomes a barrier.
One comment went to the extent of saying that Netflix is not Prime or Disney…or sleep, and it is porn-hub and the like. So Chin up Netflix, you lost to a powerful foe. Some requested that just allowing profile lock- so that one profile cannot see the viewing history of another could do the trick.
Who needs Netflix with soo Much Of Content.
JIO, Disney+HotStar, Prime, FTA Channels, and Mobile packages collectively give so much content that adding other high-priced, woke, Hindu phobic, and westernised content does not make sense.
And most Netflix content is available for free download, though illegally.
How much content does an average family even consume? If one does the maths- at INR 999/- one can get Sony, Colors, Zee for elder, Disney+Hotstar for kids and sports – till now including IPL. Marvel for young adults + academic channels. Jio games for gaming nights. What else is needed?
Disney+HotStar, VOOT, Sony and ZEE are also platforms where the Indian audience coverup lost episodes of their serials and reality shows. That’s what the audience watches.
Be RGV
Don’t waste money and be fleeced by high-cost productions. Time is for more content – quantity means quality. So better give a chance to young experimentative writer-directors and create a substantial Indian library of content. Maybe some will be blockbusters and highly successful like Ram Gopal Verma. Banking on one-two original high-risk blockbuster a year is a very faulty strategy.
Net-Net On Netflix.
What the Twittrategist are suggesting is simple.
Bring Annual subscription at a competitive price to Prime and HotStar. Create Indian content, including regional languages. Check if the content is not overtly WOKE and can be watched more together. Go for dub, no subtitles. And if you really want to hit Get IPL rights.
Twittrategist Have Sound Advice.
Now that was not tough. I am sure that these would have been discussed and discarded within the boardroom. It is time to rethink, re-evaluate and re-execute. Yeh Public hai saab jaanti hai. As a keen observer of the Indian entertainment scene, I see some truth in what the Twittrategist suggest. However, I must confess that during the lockdown Netflix was the OTT channel I watched most.
The final word came from @AnantRangaswami, he suggested @Reedhastings and the team could first dig out and go through 1) The advent and roll out of the VCR and Video Library business in India, 2) The launch of MTV India, the disaster and course correction and 3)The launch of Star movies and the course correction. Maybe he is right- the past at times have solutions for the future.
BLOG/07/2022
To connect send an email or connect on Twitter S_kotnala and subscribe to the weekly update click here.
