Streaming giant Netflix estimates the TV series Squid Game to be worth almost $900million (€776m), according to Bloomberg.
The nine-part series, which has become very popular since its launch in October, cost only $21.4m (€18.5m) to produce – about $2.4m an episode, Netflix reports in a document.
The series follows debt-ridden contestants in their struggle to win 45.6billion won (£24million) by playing childhood games with a twist, you lose, you die.
Bloomberg reports that about 132million people had watched at least two minutes of the show in its first 23 days, breaking the record set by Bridgeton, which was streamed 82million accounts in its first 28 days.
Bloomberg also notes that Netflix’s report of 111million fans was based on slightly older data.
Compared to other movie studios and TV networks, Netflix does not generate sales using specific titles. Instead, it uses its catalogue and a steady drumbeat of weekly new releases to entice customers. The company also has access to a wealth of data on customer preference which it uses to determine the value derived from individual programmes.
Squid Game has generated 891m in impact value, a metric used by Netflix to access the performance of individual shows.
The series is the first Korean drama to take the top spot on Netflix in the United States and has even spurred interest among people in learning Korean.
Speaking of the success, Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s vice president of content for Korea, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, previously told CNN: “When we first started investing in Korean series and films in 2015, we knew we wanted to make world-class stories for the core K-content fans across Asia and the world.”
“Today, Squid Game has broken through beyond our wildest dreams.”
Netflix has, however, not confirmed if the show has been booked for another season. The series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, said, “There are some other stories in the series that have not been addressed. For example, the story of the police officer and the story of his brother, The Front Man.”
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