Netflix generated $2 billion economic impact through productions in India: Ted Sarandos

At the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), held at the Jio Convention Centre here, Sarandos said the company created 20,000 cast and crew jobs from its projects in the country.

Mumbai: Streaming giant Netflix in India has generated over $2 billion in economic impact, post-Covid pandemic.

“That’s all the jobs created, skills developed, and infrastructure supported. We’ve filmed across 100+ towns and cities in India across 23 states, and collaborated with over 25,000 local cast and crew,” said Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix, during an interaction with actor Saif Ali Khan during the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) at the Jio Convention Centre in Mumbai.

According to Sarandos, the streaming platforms have enabled the democratisation of filmmaking in India.

During the discussion, “Streaming the New India: Culture, Connectivity, and Creative Capital”, he said that it is very difficult to predict where storytelling is headed, but what remains constant is the intent to connect with audiences.

Saif Ali Khan, reflecting on his collaboration with Netflix in the popular series Sacred Games, emphasised the transformative power of streaming platforms. “Earlier, we had to conform to rigid formats. Streaming has liberated actors and filmmakers from those constraints. Now, people across the globe can watch our stories, which they might have missed in traditional cinema,” he said.

Elaborating on the democratisation of filmmaking in India, he said: “Audiences can access diverse stories anytime, and creators have more freedom to tell them. It’s a continuous cycle of watching and making.”

Addressing the coexistence of cinema and streaming, Sarandos reaffirmed that theatrical releases still hold value. “Cinemas are not outdated. Streaming and theatres are not competitors. They can move ahead, coexisting with each other, as the market before us is huge,” he said.

Saif Ali Khan echoed the sentiment, adding that the most meaningful projects for him are those rooted in Indian culture. “If someone abroad asks me about my films, I talk about Omkara or Parineeta — films deeply connected to our culture. There’s something incredibly thrilling about telling our own stories to the world,” he said.