Due to Netflix’s dubbed shows, voice artists are becoming new global stars, a report in Bloomberg said. With the new idea of binge-watching dubbed versions of shows on Netflix, jobs have started pouring in for the voice-over artists.
As the report suggested, Netflix has expanded its streaming service from the United States (US) to more than 190 countries over the last few years, and to satisfy the viewers, the company is creating localized or dubbed versions of hundreds of shows annually.
“Netflix has established partnerships with more than 170 dubbing studios that produce programming in at least 34 languages”, Bloomberg report read.
As per Brian Pearson, Vice President at Netflix in charge of creative services, only 5% of the world’s population speaks English natively.
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“Netflix lets most of its users watch foreign-language programs with subtitles, or dubbed by voice-over artists reenacting the lines in the local tongue, or even both at the same time”, the report read.
According to Netflix, the average US viewer watched three times as much dubbed content as in 2018 with voice-overs now outpacing subtitles as subscribers’ preferred way to watch foreign-language programs.
Netflix is dubbing on a much-larger scale than that of any Hollywood company which led to multiple job openings for artists around the globe.
“To make that happen, Netflix has doubled its dubbing operation, and it’s also mounting a global hunt for seasoned dubbers”.
Not surprisingly, the voice-over stars don’t get paid like the actors in the series but the jobs are typically unionized and pay varies by country and job.
Depending on the gig, the pay ranges from several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.
In a time, where there is a flood of content, Asian viewers prefer to pick shows dubbed in their local languages.
During a show with subtitles or a foreign language, it is difficult to focus on the screenplay.
Additionally, dubbing is far better for the viewers to watch on small and portable screens especially those with conditions like dyslexia and visual impairments.