"The Squid Game", number one series in 94 countries 1:07
(CNN Business) -
Netflix has changed the game, once again.
When the company began to expand internationally, it exported Hollywood-made movies and television shows to other countries.
Now, roughly a decade later, while operating in more than 190 countries, the streamer is leveraging its global reach to do the opposite.
And it is doing so with tremendous success.
Netflix (NFLX) announced Tuesday night that the Korean-made "Squid Game" had become the "largest" launch in its history.
As CNN's Frank Pallotta reported, the company said the dystopian series had been viewed by more than 111 million accounts since it debuted on September 17.
By comparison, "Bridgerton," which previously ranked first, was viewed by 82 million accounts in its first 28 days.
The series is the first from Korea to reach No. 1 status in the US But it is important to recognize that the show is a worldwide phenomenon, from Asia to Europe to South America.
As Pallotta pointed out in his story, "The Squid Game" tops the Netflix Top 10 charts in 94 countries ...
"Perfect proof that our international strategy has been correct"
Minyoung Kim, a Netflix vice president overseeing the Asia Pacific area, cited the show's success as proof that the company's global content plan is working.
"The reason why 'The Squid Game' has such great significance for us internally is that it is perfect proof that our international strategy has been correct," he told The Hollywood Reporter this week.
This global strategy consists of producing local programs that are genuine and faithful to the regions in which they are developed.
As Kim explained, the company believes that "the most authentic local shows will travel the best."
A project like "The Squid Game", which has been garnering a lot of press attention for the past two weeks, breaks down previously existing barriers between media markets ...
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It's not just "The Squid Game"
While "The Squid Game" has arguably been Netflix's biggest international hit, don't forget "Lupine," which also achieved notable success earlier this year. The French mystery series soared to No. 2 in the US in January and topped the charts in several other countries. At the time, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he believed Netflix's subscription model also plays a role in pushing viewers to be "much more adventurous about what they watch."
"I think what happens is people say, 'Hey, I don't watch TV in a foreign language, but I've heard of this show called Lupine and I'm very excited to see it. And it's included in my subscription. I'll give you the start. And 10 minutes later, all of a sudden, they like foreign language TV. So it's a really incredible evolution, "added Sarandos.
"Bong Joon-ho said it so beautifully at the Oscars, audiences have to get past the 1-inch wall to enjoy a completely different world of entertainment. And we're seeing it on an incredible scale to look at, to have large stories from anywhere in the world to all over the world on Netflix ... ".
For the record
Speaking of "Lupine," Netflix signed a deal with the show's star, Omar Sy, on Tuesday.
"The partnership will see Sy production company in Paris and Los Angeles develop original films for Netflix, starring Sy as well as executive producer on the projects," Elsa Keslassy and Manori Ravindran report ... (Variety)
- Now back to "The Squid Game".
Not everyone is a fan: Mike Hale argues that the series "does not show or say anything that I do not know ...".
(NYT)
- On Ari Melber's MSNBC show, Jason Johnson said the success of "The Squid Game" says "a lot about the state of economic distress that most Americans are experiencing today ...".
(Twitter)
- The director of "The Squid Game", Hwang Dong-hyuk, told Tyler Hersko that the rise of the tech giants and Trump played a role in the project: "Trump became the president of the United States and I think he looks like one of the VIPs from the squid game. It's almost like he's running a game show, not a country, like giving people horror. After all these problems happened, I thought it was time for this program to go out into the world ... ".
(IndieWire)
squid game netflix
