Money Heist is Netflix’s Third Most-Watched TV Show
Guys, people love Money Heist. The Spanish heist series, which concluded its three-season (or five-part) run on Netflix last year, is not only one of Netflix’s most-watched non-English language TV series of all, it’s one of its most-watched TV series of all time, full stop. According to Netflix’s self-reported numbers, which are based on hours watched in the first 28 days following its release, Money Heist: Part 4 is its third-most watched TV show of all time, beaten only by Squid Game and Bridgerton. If you’re looking for outside confirmation (and you should be—having multiple sources is usually better), Parrot Analytics named Money Heist as one of the five most “in-demand” TV shows of 2021. In other words, like Netflix’s other international hits Squid Game and Lupin, Money Heist‘s themes have struck a chord with global audiences. People are hungry for stories that explore class tensions and income inequality in entertaining ways; because of this, there is no doubt still a large global audience for Money Heist: Korea.
Netflix Wants More International Subscribers
It makes sense fo Netflix to adapt a story that has proven itself globally popular, but why in Korea? I’ve written before about how Netflix has more or less reached a subscriber saturation point in North America, which means, if it is going to grow its subscriber base, then it has to do it elsewhere. This has defined much of Netflix’s recent investments, including the $500 million it invested in Korea in 2021 alone. In terms of subscriber growth potential, Netflix has high hopes for the Asia-Pacific region especially, a region that holds 60% of the global population. (Though, 18% of the world’s population is in China specifically, a country where Netflix does not currently operate.) Historically, Korean entertainment has done well in East and Southeast Asia. (Note: Since 2016, the Chinese government has had an unofficial ban on Korean entertainment in the wake of Korea’s agreement to allow the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system THAAD on its soil.) In other words, it is worth investing in the Korean entertainment industry not only for the domestic audience it could attract (Korea has a population of just under 52 million), but for the populations in Southeast Asia and in other East Asian countries who have already shown a proven interest in K-content, including Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philipines, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan. What do you think of the Money Heist: Korea trailer? Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments below…
