## From Stream to Flood

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### Expansion and audience reach
- Streaming giants (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon) are creating overlapping global audiences and opening new possibilities for film and television industries in emerging markets.
- Examples of cross-cultural content: Namaste Wahala (Nigerian–Indian co-production) was released by Netflix and briefly entered Netflix’s top 10 list in the United States.
- A survey of thousands of viewers from 10 advanced and emerging market economies found that nearly half of those surveyed subscribed to streaming services in the first half of 2020.

### Scale and job/economic impacts
- In India the entertainment sector accounts for 1 percent of GDP (by some estimates).
- In Nigeria more than a million people work directly or indirectly for Nollywood—the second-highest employer after agriculture.
- China overtook the United States in box office sales last year.

### Subscription growth (Asia) — key statistics
- Subscriptions to video streaming services in India grew from 4.5 million in 2017 to 59.6 million in 2020.
- Indonesia: 0.2 million in 2017 to 8.0 million in 2020. (Text notes Indonesia grew from 200,000 subscribers in 2017 to 8 million in 2020.)
- Thailand: 0.4 million in 2017 to 2.0 million in 2020; growth described as 130 percent over the period.
- Philippines: 0.5 million in 2017 to 6.1 million in 2020; growth described as 71 percent over the period.
- China: 158.7 million in 2017 to 298.0 million in 2020.

### Infrastructure, pricing, and distribution dynamics
- Rapid expansion in internet access (notably in India) has driven fierce competition among telecommunications providers, producing some of the lowest data prices in the world.
- Most people in these markets access streaming video services on smartphones; India has some of the highest data usage per smartphone in the world.
- Netflix launched a mobile-only plan in India in 2019 that allows users to stream on smartphones or tablets for less than $3 a month; Netflix rolled out a similar plan in Malaysia.
- Telefónica announced in 2018 a multiyear partnership enabling subscribers in Latin America to sign up for Netflix on its platforms.
- In Africa, Netflix is working with telecommunications operators to facilitate payments where internet service is more challenging.

### Industry strategies and content investment
- Disney+ acquired Hotstar in 2019; Hotstar now comprises 30 percent of Disney+’s subscriber base in India.
- Netflix increased investment in local content and expanded into Africa with more original content.
- Netflix gained 36.6 million customers in 2020 (its largest annual gain) and now boasts more than 200 million subscribers worldwide.
- Amazon announced it would move beyond television shows and co-produce its first big Bollywood feature.

### Creative economy effects and market structure
- Digitization has lowered production costs and expanded distribution channels, creating economies of scale and scope that increase both quantity and variety of creative content.
- Streaming platforms have made it feasible for lower-budget productions and high-budget films to coexist on the same global platform.
- The internet’s matching of viewers with content reduces uncertainty in predicting hits and enables producers in emerging markets to reach audiences beyond their natural geographic reach.
- Streaming services from global firms have acted as facilitators of trade in cultural goods, creating a “two-way street” in content flows rather than one-directional cultural hegemony.

### Regulatory and cultural considerations
- European countries mandate that a certain portion of broadcast and streamed content be locally produced.
- China tightly monitors foreign content, resulting in a streaming landscape dominated by domestic players (Tencent and iQiyi).
- Cultural sensitivities in India prompted public pushback (example: Netflix’s 2019 apology for a TV series deemed offensive to Hindus), requiring course corrections by US-based firms operating in some markets.

### Implications and opportunities for emerging markets
- Greater connectivity and lower data costs have eased market entry for major streaming players, increasing competition and investment in local creative ecosystems.
- For local producers and cultural institutions, global streaming visibility can translate into economic contribution and international recognition.
- Creators in emerging markets see the streaming era as expanding the volume of content that can be produced and distributed globally.

*Source: Finance & Development, June 2021.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/june/streaming-video-services-flood-emerging-markets-behsudi.pdf_