The highly anticipated second season of “Squid Game” has emerged as not only the most-watched international series in India for 2024 but also achieved the highest viewership of all time in the category, according to a comprehensive report by media consulting firm Ormax Media. The Netflix phenomenon had 19.6 million viewers in India, significantly outperforming other international titles.
In the Hindi-language space, Prime Video’s “Mirzapur” Season 3 claimed the top spot with 30.8 million viewers, followed by “Panchayat” Season 3 with 28.2 million viewers. Netflix demonstrated its strength in the Hindi-language film category, securing 11 of the top 15 spots, including the top eight positions, with “Do Patti” leading at 15.1 million viewers.
The unscripted content landscape saw JioCinema’s “Bigg Boss OTT” Season 3 leading with 17.8 million viewers, followed by Netflix’s “The Great Indian Kapil Show” Season 1 at 15.7 million.
Beyond the Hindi-language space, Disney+ Hotstar emerged as a significant player, leading the Telugu-language content list with four entries and dominating the Tamil content space with seven entries in the top 10. “Save The Tigers” Season 2 topped the Telugu viewership charts with 5 million viewers, while Prime Video’s “Inspector Rishi” led Tamil content with 4.9 million viewers.
In the international film category, Prime Video’s “Road House” stood as the sole title to cross the 5 million viewership mark, leading 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 study also revealed 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, measured by Ormax Power Rating (OPR), Prime Video’s “Panchayat” Season 3 emerged as the most-liked Hindi series of 2024 with a score of 77, while “Squid Game 2” topped the international category 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 marketing buzz, with “Mirzapur” Season 3 achieving a peak buzz score of 63%, the highest for any streaming show in 2024 and ranking third on the all-time list behind only its predecessor “Mirzapur” Season 2 and “The Family Man” Season 2.
The report exclusively focused on streaming originals, excluding non-original content such as theatrical releases, catch-up television, and sports content. Ormax Media’s methodology involved primary research conducted among audiences across India, projecting to the streaming universe in the country.
