Netflix has tied up with Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE), Shah Rukh Khan’s production house, for exclusive video-on-demand access to its films. This is the company’s first tie up with an Indian production house for content. The partnership is long-term and will last a minimum of three years. Netflix will get access to ‘dozens of RCE films', as well as new films that will come to theaters in the next three years. The first title to be launched will be Dear Zindagi, post which other films like Happy New Year, Om Shanti Om and Dilwale will be launched on the streaming platform, across its global markets. Note that while this is Netflix’s first exclusive content tie-up with an Indian production house, the company has focused on generating India unique content, like its original standup comedy series with comedian Vir Das. In June, it also tied up with Phantom Films to create an original series based on author Vikram Chandra’s book Sacred Games. In February, we reported that Netflix had begun acquiring original content from India and was to stream the movie Brahman Naman globally and exclusively. In November 2015, Netflix said that it would stream Anurag Kashyap’s movie Gangs of Wasseypur as a mini-series. At the time, the company said it would spend $5 billion on Bollywood content, animated series etc., in 2016. Focus on India: Netflix launched in India this January at Rs 500, Rs 650 and Rs 800 per month, and in August, appointed Swati Shetty in a content…
