Sacred Games: Consumer Behavior analysis based on Netflix Watchlist

Netflix just had its worst year since 2015 picking up only 18.2 mn worldwide subscribers in 2021 against the 36 mn+ numbers they boasted of in 2020. When it comes to consumer profile-the demographic mix is skewed towards GEN Z having a penetration of? 70% followed by Millennials (65%), Gen X (54%), and Baby Boomers (39%) (Morning Consult, 2020).

In 2020,it was the APAC region which saw 9.2 million new subscribers ,a 65% increase from 2019 and revenue growth of almost 62% (CNN, 2021) , so what went wrong?

2018 changed the? fortunes of Netflix in India leading to the production of the most successful OTT show -Sacred Games that went on to be nominated for Emmys. The first Original produced by Netflix in India with an eclectic star cast of Nawazzudin Siddiqui and Saif Ali khan directed by two different genre defining directors is based on the 900 page book written by author Vikram Chandra.

Success of Sacred Games

Sacred Games was the first Original Series by Netflix which had Indian protagonist within Indian landscape and consumers latched on to the native "Narcos" Equivalent-the content , language, grammar ,visuals all exploited the lack of censorship on the channel and offered consumers a world like no other. Parrot analytics talks about how big the show truly is 3 years after its launch not just in India but a 100% travelability outside.

In the Indian context, Sacred Games managed to topple even the mass content Big Boss in viewership, in-spite of the many controversies Sacred Games gained a cult status leading to major FOMO in Indian consumers who downloaded the app, sought passwords and resorted to every measure possible to be in on this new massive trend called OTT.

And Sacred games managed to do this magic twice for Netflix with its season 1 & then again with Season 2 in 2019 paving way to the Binge watching era in India.

Consumer Behavior analysis?

1. Content Platform Impact - The biggest consumer behavior impact of Sacred Games was in the number of consumers who signed up for Netflix, it was a customer acquisition strategy that did wonders for the platform. In 2018 Hotstar had roughly 2 mn viewers, Prime (600k) and NETFLIX was at 500k and as they rest is history. Netflix today is targeting its next million customers from India and is leaning towards variety and diversity of content to get them off the mark. Source:-https://qz.com/india/1205896/how-amazon-edged-past-netflix-in-india/
2. Device Usage Impact -Consumers moved from TV+OTT( to catch up on shows they missed on ) to OTT first content viewing era. From watching TV to watching content on Mobile, Indian consumers have made Netflix launch a Mobile only subscription model. In 2020, consumers in India spent an average 4.6 hours per day on their mobiles as compared to 3.3 hours in 2019 ( Source-App Annie)
3. Pop -Culture Impact- Watching Movies at home- Netflix made it cool to chill at home, an average Indian subscriber saw 1 movie a week on Netflix. The 2021 decline is a proof point that the Indian consumer who will continue to be value for money driven, favoring other platforms like Prime Video ( 999/yr) ,Disney+hotstar ( 399/yr)? against Netflix ( 499 a month) offering and while Netflix continues to alter consumer behaviour , its time they relook at the pricing strategy to win the Indian Market. Inspite of globally increasing its prices in US and Canada last month, Netflix has infact slashed its prices in India as a nod to acknowledging that it is listening.

Netflix and Sacred Games truly revolutionized the Web viewership in India however 2021 ended up being the year when Disney +, Prime and others picked up better movie titles, focused on Regional content and launched Originals one after the other ,the consumer has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to watching content and the tight fisted Indian is not going to roll out dough to Netflix anymore. Netflix has lost the beginners advantage it had with Sacred Games and will have to review its India Strategy in the face of the new competition for the next billion dollar market.

Disclaimer:-The views expressed are personal and have no bearing to DaMENSCH.com. The Author is not a part of the Netflix team and has only curated the data available on online portals as mentioned in the source and cannot be held accountable for the veracity of the same. This article is for the academic purpose of learning consumer behavior analysis,? impact and best practices in the industry as a form of peer-peer knowledge sharing.?