Netflix India Logs Its Biggest Quarter for New Paid Members as Revenue Grows 18%

Netflix added more paid members in India in the July–September 2026 quarter than in any previous quarter, the company said in its third-quarter shareholder letter on 20 October. Its India revenue grew about 18% year on year on a foreign-exchange-neutral basis, and viewing hours in the country rose 24%.

Netflix does not disclose its India subscriber count or the number it added, and the letter gives no rupee revenue figure. But India is one of only a handful of markets the company singled out this quarter, as Asia-Pacific growth slowed to 12% in reported dollars.

What drove the India quarter

Netflix credited two things: its local slate and distribution.

• Lock Upp, its first daily reality series, drew more viewing in its first 91 days than any Netflix title in India before it, the company said.
• Operation Safed Sagar logged 11 million views and Musafir Cafe 9 million, according to the letter.
• Flipkart: Netflix launched its first transaction-based loyalty bundle with the e-commerce company, which it said helped bring in new members. Terms were not disclosed.

Viewing hours per member in India grew by a low-to-mid single-digit percentage, so most of the 24% rise came from more members rather than heavier use. Co-CEO Greg Peters tied the gain to local programming on the earnings call, saying, according to BestMediaInfo, "view hours in Q3 in India grew 24% on an absolute basis."

The global numbers

Worldwide, Netflix's revenue rose 12% to $12.87 billion in the quarter (11% excluding currency moves). Operating margin widened to 34.6% from 28.2% a year earlier, and net income rose to $3.66 billion from $2.55 billion.

Asia-Pacific revenue was $1.54 billion, up 12% in dollars and 15% on a currency-neutral basis, the slowest pace in the five quarters the letter tabulates.

The company now expects full-year 2026 revenue of $51.1 billion, up 13%. It cut its 2026 advertising revenue forecast to about $2.7 billion from about $3 billion, citing a slightly slower rollout of some ad product features, Storyboard18 reported. Its ad tier will expand to 15 more countries in 2027; BestMediaInfo noted India is not among them.

Why it matters for India's streaming market

The results land during a turbulent month at Netflix, which replaced content chief Bela Bajaria with Peter Rice and then saw film chief Dan Lin leave after a 6% staff cut. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos named India, Korea and Japan as markets where local content is working.

For Indian producers, a Netflix that credits daily reality and local thrillers for record growth is likely to keep commissioning them. For rivals, the Flipkart bundle shows Netflix is now chasing reach through partners, in a market where online video has overtaken TV in revenue.