Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent was built for YouTube, where the comedian found a massive audience long before Netflix came into the picture. But Season 2 brought an unusual experiment: the same episodes were released on both YouTube and Netflix at the same time, with no difference in duration.
That strategy now appears to be changing.
Why is the latest India’s Got Latent episode not on YouTube?
The latest episode, featuring Varun Dhawan and Medha Shankr, premiered on September 4, but unlike the previous episodes, it was announced as a Netflix-exclusive episode. The Indian Express reported that the sixth episode of Season 2 would stream exclusively on Netflix.
This comes just days after another interesting development: the previous episode featuring Archana Puran Singh and Orry had crossed a staggering 61 million views on YouTube, while it failed to enter Netflix’s global Top 10 list, meaning it had fewer than 900,000 Netflix views by September 4.
Did 61 million YouTube views expose a problem for Netflix?
Possibly, but it would be too early to say that the YouTube numbers caused the change. The two platforms measure views differently. YouTube recently changed its counting system so that even watching a single frame can register as a view, while Netflix calculates a view based on total hours watched divided by the programme’s runtime.
There is another metric worth noting. Ormax Media estimated that the Archana-Orry episode had accumulated 8.5 million views across YouTube and Netflix up to August 30, using a methodology that counted viewers who watched at least 30 minutes. So the headline-grabbing 61 million vs 900K comparison is not exactly apples-to-apples.
How did India’s Got Latent perform on Netflix before this?
The Netflix experiment has produced mixed results. The Alia Bhatt episode, which opened Season 2, performed strongly on Netflix and stayed in the platform’s global Top 10 non-English TV list for three consecutive weeks. It recorded 1.5 million, 2.4 million and 2.2 million Netflix views across those weeks, according to Netflix’s reported figures cited by The Indian Express.
The Haarsh Limbachiyaa episode also entered Netflix’s global Top 10 with 1.5 million views. But the Vishal Dadlani-Raghu Ram episode and the Archana Puran Singh-Orry episode did not make the list.
So, is Netflix replacing YouTube for Samay Raina?
Not exactly. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos had previously said the platform was excited to bring Raina’s “very big built-in audience” to Netflix. And when Season 2 was announced, Raina had specifically said the episodes would be available on both platforms simultaneously and without a difference in duration. The Varun Dhawan episode therefore looks less like a sudden removal and more like a new experiment in the show’s distribution strategy.
For now, one thing is clear: India’s Got Latent remains a YouTube giant, but Netflix is still figuring out how much of that enormous YouTube audience it can actually convert into OTT viewers.
Shiwani works as a Senior Sub Editor at NewsX, covering the entertainment beat. With a strong background in media, she is a true cinema buff who loves keeping up with the latest in pop culture and lifestyle trends. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Shiwani followed her passion and pursued a Master’s in Journalism from IIMC, choosing the road less travelled.
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