MPW 2023: How Monika Shergill grew Netflix India’s user engagement by 30%

What connects the Hindi version of Oscar winning film RRR directed by S.S. Rajamouli, Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers and the International Emmy-winning Vir Das: Landing? All of them are on Netflix India. Credit for this must go to Monika Shergill, who is leading the streaming giant’s content strategy in India.   

Shergill has manoeuvred Netflix India through a revised strategy that has seen it pump in a lot more money into local content. As a result, Netflix India’s user engagement grew 30 per cent and revenue grew 24 per cent over a year at the end of December 2022, making it the company’s fastest-growing market globally. “Our core strategy remains unchanged. We want to make Netflix the service of choice for Indian audiences by offering an exciting line-up of quality series, films, documentaries and reality—and that’s exactly what we are continuing to do,” says Shergill.  

As the overall streaming business in India completed seven years and the conversation turned towards profitability, Shergill says their focus is on building a healthy streaming business that is predicated on increasing engagement, revenue and profitability. After hit series and films such as Scoop, Rana Naidu, Kohrra and Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga in 2023, Netflix is now banking on The Archies, an original musical film packed with a cast of star kids and directed by Zoya Akhtar. “It is our mission to entertain our audiences and our film The Archies will take this to the next level,” signs off Shergill.