New Delhi: Netflix has appointed Gaurav Pradhan to oversee business development for Asia and Swati Shetty with responsibility for original content production and acquisition.
Gaurav Pradhan will be overseeing Netflix’s business development efforts in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The company launched its Internet TV network to more than 130 new countries. In India the same was launched on 6th January. However, Netflix didn’t create any major impact due to lack of Original local content and the appointment of Swati Shetty is vital to overcome the shortcomings.
Pradhan joins Netflix from Google’s video streaming service Youtube, where he spent over five years as head for product partnerships for YouTube in India and South-East Asia. Prior to this, he worked at search giant Yahoo in India.
Shetty is the founder director of Samosa Stories Entertainment Pvt Ltd and has previously worked as president of motion pictures for Balaji Telefilms, promoted by Ekta Kapoor, for over a year. She was the executive director of Walt Disney International Productions India for two years and director of India for Disney ABC International TV for about two years.
“We are truly excited to have Gaurav and Swati on our team, the breadth and depth of their experience will play a critical part in strengthening our Netflix service in India,” a company spokesperson in the US said in an emailed statement.
Netflix is the world’s leading movie and TV show streaming network with over 70 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films.
In India Netflix announced its first original series in the country based on novelist Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games, which dwells on small-time hustling to armed gang wars, of good men going to seed and the upward mobility of the baddies.
The company has partnered with Phantom Films, a film studio founded by Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl to produce the series.
Last week, the company launched its first-ever digital brand film for India titled Commitment which features standup comedian Abish Mathew.
Netflix faces competition from more than a dozen online streaming services in India.
