Netflix India’s Monika Shergill talks about creating an ocean of stories and unlocking its full potential

Monika Shergill, Vice President, content, Netflix India, was in a freewheeling conversation with Anil Wanvari, the founder and CEO of Indiantelevision.com at the fifth edition of The Content Hub 2021. Monika spoke on the steadily upward curve of the platform and Netflix’s journey so far of creating and curating content for the masses. Monika said that the central aim of Netflix has always been to cater to different audiences through ‘all kinds of stories’ on the platform, ‘stories that feel real, have universal emotions.’ The curated content on the platform includes series adapted from novels and more such variations. Shergill said that Netflix is ‘creating stories for every mood’, while also adding that the platform allows users to customise their Netflix experience as per their preferences and streamline the experience. That the aim is ‘to reflect on as many lives as we can, creating an ocean of stories and unlocking its full potential’, this statement summarily represented the pulse of the event.

The Content Hub 2021 that concluded recently was a three-day mega event organised in the virtual format by Indiantelevision.com. It brought a confluence of content creators from the television, films, and OTT under the umbrella platform for a discussion about the changing face of media and the entertainment industry.

A palpable instance of the disappearing markers between global and local categories of content slipping came up with the French series Lupin. The series was released on Netflix in January, and among 10 shows, across most countries and for years together.

As many as 41 titles were announced early this year, featuring a huge pipeline of new series such as the much-awaited fifth season of Spanish drama Money Heist, Finding Anamika that marks Madhuri Dixit’s OTT debut, followed by the dark romantic series Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein in August, and R Madhavan’s comedy series Decoupled.

IN10 Media Network and ZEE5, along with Applause Entertainment and Tipping Point (Viacom 18 Studios’ digital content arm) co-presented the fifth edition of the Content Hub 2021. PTC Network was the supporting partner.

Netflix is set to clock a decade in original programming globally.

It’s safe to say that OTT platforms have ushered in a paradigm shift in the creation and consumption of content across different mediums. National borders and boundaries are getting all the more blurred today with the merging of the categories of global and local content. While stuck at home due to the pandemic, one can access a series made in Australia from India and vice-versa. The popular streamer streams fairly wide categories of content, from documentaries, movies, shows, sitcoms, originals, cartoons, and more. Netflix prides itself on more than 209 million subscribers worldwide, a figure that is only growing by the minute.

OTT platforms are touted to be the future of new-age entertainment. And ruling the roost of all global platforms currently, is Netflix.