Washington: On Tuesday, Netflix launched an interactive platform called “Netflix Effect”, showcasing the economic, cultural and social impact of its productions across the globe. According to the company, it has invested more than USD 135 billion in content over the last 10 years, generating over 425,000 production jobs and engaging more than 700,000 extras and day workers worldwide.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company continues to increase its spending on content creation even as several entertainment firms scale back operations.
“We produce our shows and movies in more than 4,500 cities and towns in more than 50 countries around the world. Every Netflix production is a local production, creating jobs and growing businesses wherever it's made,” Sarandos said in a blog post accompanying the report.
Highlighting India’s growing role in Netflix’s global ecosystem, the company pointed to the success of the 2024 series Heeramandi, created by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The elaborate set at Mumbai’s Film City reportedly involved 700 craftsmen working over seven months, while more than 300 handcrafted costumes were sourced from textile hubs such as Varanasi, Agra and Lucknow. The series was also dubbed into 14 languages including French, German, Malay and Arabic.
Netflix also highlighted the global reach of RRR by filmmaker S. S. Rajamouli, which gained wider international recognition on the platform after its theatrical success and later won an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Among other productions, Netflix said five seasons of Stranger Things supported more than 8,000 jobs and contributed USD 1.4 billion to the US economy through collaborations with over 3,800 vendors across the country.
On the cultural front, the company noted that non-English titles now account for over one-third of all viewing on the platform, compared to less than 10 per cent a decade ago.
Netflix also pointed to the influence of KPop Demon Hunters, which reportedly led to a 22 per cent increase in Americans learning Korean on Duolingo and a 25 per cent rise in flight bookings from the US to South Korea.
Sarandos said Netflix remains committed to expanding global entertainment production by investing heavily in content and training initiatives. According to the company, its training programmes have reached over 90,000 people across more than 75 countries.
Netflix has unveiled “Netflix Effect”, an interactive platform detailing how its content investments have contributed over $325 billion to the global economy in the past decade. The company says it has spent $135 billion on content, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, and boosted local industries in more than 50 countries, underscoring its expanding global production footprint.