The much-awaited second season of “Squid Game” has not only become the most-watched international series in India for 2024, but has also achieved the highest viewership of all time in the category, according to a comprehensive report by media consultancy Ormax Media. The Netflix phenomenon had 19.6 million viewers in India, significantly outperforming other international titles.
In Hindi language, Prime Video season 3 ‘Mirzapur’ claimed the first spot with 30.8 million viewers, followed by ‘Panchayat’ season 3 with 28.2 million viewers. Netflix demonstrated its strength in the Hindi films category, taking 11 of the top 15 spots, including the top eight, with “Do Patti” leading with 15.1 million viewers.
In the unscripted landscape, JioCinema’s ‘Bigg Boss OTT’ season 3 was leading with 17.8 million viewers, followed by Netflix’s ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ season 1 with 15.7 million viewers.
Besides the Hindi-language space, Disney+ Hotstar emerged as a major player, topping the list for Telugu content with four entries and dominating Tamil content with seven entries in the top 10. Season 2 of “Save The Tigers” topped the Telugu viewership charts with 5 million viewers, while Prime Video’s “Inspector Rishi” led the Tamil content with 4.9 million viewers.
In the international films category, Prime Video’s ‘Road House’ was the only title to surpass 5 million viewers, marking a relatively modest year for international films. Prime Video dominated this space with six entries in the top 10, while Netflix secured the remaining four spots.
The survey also found that established franchises dominated international content, with seven entries in the top 10, including ‘The Boys’ Season 4 (10.5 million viewers) and ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2 (8.8 million viewers). ).
In terms of content strength, as measured by Ormax Power Rating (OPR), Prime Video’s ‘Panchayat’ Season 3 emerged as the most loved Hindi series of 2024 with a score of 77, while ‘Squid Game 2’ topped the international category stood with 73. points. Among international films, Netflix’s ‘Spaceman’ led with 62 points, followed by Disney+ Hotstar’s ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)” at 61 points.
The report highlighted interesting trends in the marketing buzz, with season 3 of “Mirzapur” achieving a maximum buzz score of 63%, the highest for any streaming show in 2024 and ranking third on the all-time list, behind only its predecessor season 2” Mirzapur”. and season 2 of “The Family Man.”
The report focused exclusively on streaming originals, excluding non-original content such as theatrical releases, catch-up television shows and sports content. Ormax Media’s methodology involved primary research among audiences across India, projecting onto the streaming universe in the country.