Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, has said that Netflix has created a USD 2 billion economic impact from its Indian productions. At the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit – WAVES in Mumbai, Sarandos said the company created 20,000 cast and crew jobs from its projects in the country.

He was speaking at the session “Streaming the New India: Culture, Connectivity & Creative Capital”, moderated by Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, who headlined Netflix’s first Indian original series “Sacred Games” in 2018 and recently starred in the streamer’s heist movie “Jewel Thief”.

Sarandos noted that globally three billion hours of Indian content were watched last year, with at least one Indian title in the global top 10 every week. In those productions, they had 150 original films and series that were filmed in 100 different towns and cities in India.

He said that India has a great cinema culture, as people love to watch films and then talk about them. When Saif asked if he believes that cinema and streaming can co-exist, Sarandos said they do, especially in India. The actor also said that India has a treasure trove of stories that haven’t been told before or explored in depth.