Netflix Inc NFLX and Bollywood filmmaker and producer Karan Johar have ended a key, exclusive, content deal signed two years ago, The Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
What Happened: The deal required Johar’s digital content studio Dharmatic Entertainment to exclusively create content — fiction and non-fiction series and movies — for the video streaming giant.
The content studio led by Johar has delivered some popular hits for Netflix, including Lust Stories and Ghost Stories.
Why It Matters: If the exclusive deal is off as reported, Netflix’s video streaming rivals such as Amazon.com Inc’s AMZN Prime Video, Walt Disney Co’s DIS Disney+ Hotstar and others stand to benefit as Johar would no longer be bound to releasing all the content of his production house on Netflix.
Competition is tough as SVOD platforms in India have been investing heavily to create and add more local original content on their platforms.
About 26 Bollywood films that were meant for theatrical release were streamed directly on SVOD platforms in the first six months of this year. Of that, Netflix streamed nine releases, while Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar streamed six each.
Price Action: Netflix shares closed 0.4% lower at $573.14 on Tuesday.
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