Indian broadcasters are pouring money into reality TV. Netflix's collapsing second seasons show why

Indian broadcasters are pouring money into reality TV. Netflix's collapsing second seasons show why

July 14, 2026 · 16 min · Episode 793

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges Netflix faces with its second seasons and contrasts it with the success of Indian reality TV.

Netflix built its empire on one idea: watch what you want, when you want, all at once. Now it's losing viewers to YouTube, struggling to bring audiences back for season two, and internally discussing always-on live channels and ad bundles you can't skip. Which is to say: it's considering becoming cable TV. The irony is that while Netflix is scrambling for answers in the US, India may already have one. A reality show that airs almost every night at 8pm just cracked Netflix's global top 10. The format that streaming was supposed to kill is doing just fine. And Netflix is finally realising why. Tune in. Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

People in this episode

Host: The Ken

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Netflix

Books & works: Daybreak

Places: India

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