Winning India first in content selection is Netflix’s top priority: Monika Shergill

Those who have watched Netflix evolve from a DVD-by-mail company into a global streaming powerhouse may be familiar with its oft-cited refrain: sleep is its biggest rival. Many were therefore surprised when Monika Shergill, vice president of content at Netflix India, declared that the platform’s fiercest competition in India comes not from local platforms or even sleep, but from Netflix operations in other countries.She made the remark at the Future of Video India summit, organised by the Asia Video Industry Association on May 2nd, during a one-on-one conversation with Gaurav Laghate, senior editor at Mint, a financial daily. The discussion centred on how to supercharge content growth in India.To stay ahead of both global counterparts and local streaming services, Netflix India follows what Shergill calls a “weekend reads model.” Her team takes the most promising script submissions home over the weekend. By Monday, they decide which stories are worth pursuing.Regardless of genre or format, Shergill insists that the content must reflect her core philosophy of “fuelling fandom with human emotions.” In her view, “Entertainment must always come first in the entertainment business. The numbers will follow.”While the volume of submissions may seem overwhelming, it also represents a strength. India’s vast diversity, Shergill notes, is a source of immense storytelling potential. “We have filmed across one lakh cities and 23 states, collaborating with a growing pool of local talent. Over the years, we have engaged approximately 25,000 local cast and crew members.”Although Netflix India has a robust pipeline of original content, Shergill emphasises that the platform does not prioritise domestic stories at the expense of international ones. “Winning India first is Netflix’s top priority,” she said, adding that the goal is to offer the best selection of both local and global entertainment. She cited the success of the Hindi-dubbed version of WrestleMania, a premium WWE live event, and the nationwide popularity of the South Indian show Lucky Bhaskar as examples of this dual strategy.When questioned about the growing competition between streaming giants, she maintained that her team is relentless and holds to its own high standards. She clarifies that “our competition, as we often say, is from within Netflix (from across countries)”. However, she also emphasised that Netflix launches a title globally, such as Money Heist, when it performs exceptionally well in its home country. “Netflix’s biggest competition is sleep,” she said.Considering the success that live streaming of sports has brought competitors, when Shergill was asked about whether Netflix also plans to enter the sporting world with live cricket programming, she clarified that while the platform does sports-adjacent programming and has added gaming to its offerings, there are currently no plans to enter live sports streaming but “never say never”.Lastly, when she was asked about the impact that competition from short-form content on social media has on Netflix, she wittily remarked that “Netflix is not for killing time but for spending time” — it’s a more intentional experience.The content boom in India, alongside the emergence of several other streaming and social media platforms, has stirred quite a bit of excitement among the Indian audience. The streaming pioneer aims to stay relevant in the minds of the audience with strategies unique to Netflix.

Those who have watched Netflix evolve from a DVD-by-mail company into a global streaming powerhouse may be familiar with its oft-cited refrain: sleep is its biggest rival. Many were therefore surprised when Monika Shergill, vice president of content at Netflix India, declared that the platform’s fiercest competition in India comes not from local platforms or even sleep, but from Netflix operations in other countries. She made the remark at the Future of Video India summit, organised by the Asia Video Industry Association on May 2nd, during a one-on-one conversation with Gaurav Laghate, senior editor at Mint, a financial daily.

The discussion centred on how to supercharge content growth in India. To stay ahead of both global counterparts and local streaming services, Netflix India follows what Shergill calls a “weekend reads model.” Her team takes the most promising script submissions home over the weekend.

By Monday, they decide which stories are worth pursuing. Regardless of genre or format, Shergill insists that the content must reflect her core philosophy of “fuelling fandom with human emotions.” In her view, “Entertainment must always come first in the entertainment business.

The numbers will follow.” While the volume of submissions may seem overwhelming, it also represents a strength. India’s vast diversity, Shergill notes, is a source of immense storytelling potential.

“We have filmed across one lakh cities and 23 states, collaborating with a growing pool of local talent. Over the years, we have engaged approximately 25,000 local cast and crew members.” Although Netflix India has a robust pipeline of original content, Shergill emphasises that the platform does not prioritise domestic stories at the expense of international ones.

“Winning India first is Netflix’s top priority,” she said, adding that the goal is to offer the best selection of both local and global entertainment. She cited the success of the Hindi-dubbed version of WrestleMania, a premium WWE live event, and the nationwide popularity of the South Indian show Lucky Bhaskar as examples of this dual strategy. When questioned about the growing competition between streaming giants, she maintained that her team is relentless and holds to its own high standards.

She clarifies that “our competition, as we often say, is from within Netflix (from across countries)”. However, she also emphasised that Netflix launches a title globally, such as Money Heist, when it performs exceptionally well in its home country. “Netflix’s biggest competition is sleep,” she said.

Considering the success that live streaming of sports has brought competitors, when Shergill was asked about whether Netflix also plans to enter the sporting world with live cricket programming, she clarified that while the platform does sports-adjacent programming and has added gaming to its offerings, there are currently no plans to enter live sports streaming but “never say never”. Lastly, when she was asked about the impact that competition from short-form content on social media has on Netflix, she wittily remarked that “Netflix is not for killing time but for spending time” — it’s a more intentional experience. The content boom in India, alongside the emergence of several other streaming and social media platforms, has stirred quite a bit of excitement among the Indian audience.

The streaming pioneer aims to stay relevant in the minds of the audience with strategies unique to Netflix..