Amazon Beating Netflix, Disney+ in Japan’s Streaming Market (Study) – The Hollywood Reporter

Amazon Prime Video has staked out a commanding lead within the invaluable and fast-growing Japanese streaming video market, a brand new examine from regional consultancy Media Companions Asia reveals.

The report discovered that Japan’s premium SVOD market had a complete of 44 million subscribers as of the top of August. Amazon Prime Video accounted for 14.6 million subscribers, or 33 %, whereas Netflix trailed with 6 million subs and Disney+, which launched solely final yr, had simply 1.8 million.

Media Companions Asia attributed Amazon Prime’s robust lead available in the market to the corporate’s regionally common bundled e-commerce service, the service’s ease of use and aggressive pricing, a big library of long-tail content material, and native distribution partnerships with telecoms NTT Docomo and KDDI. The authors discovered that native Japanese titles, notably licensed anime, drove practically 70 % of Prime Video consumption within the nation, whereas U.S. films and sequence accounted for 20 % of view time.

The significance of the Japanese market to the so-called “streaming wars” was made evident earlier this yr in an MPA report that projected Australia and New Zealand could be surpassed by Japan as Netflix’s largest revenue-generating market in Asia Pacific in 2021.

The MPA’s new report discovered that for Netflix’s estimated 6 million Japanese subscribers, roughly 25 % of consumption was pushed by Korean dramas — “a key aggressive differentiator for Netflix” — whereas U.S. content material accounted for 15 % of viewing. As with Amazon, licensed anime was the the “key consumption driver,” nevertheless.

Disney+ launched in Japan in June 2020 and continues to be discovering its footing available in the market, to an extent. The service will get a giant enhance on Oct. 27 when Disney provides the Star model to the platform’s content material choices, which is able to convey an extra 16,000 titles to subscribers, together with extra native Japanese reveals.

A number of native streaming providers proceed to carry substantial positions available in the market as nicely. The MPA’s analysis discovered Hulu Japan (owned by native broadcaster Nippon TV) had 2.8 million subs, DoCoMo Anime Retailer (a video app native to DoCoMo telephones) had 2.5 million and U-Subsequent (which inked a licensing cope with HBO earlier this yr) had 2.4 million.

Titled “Japan On-line Video Shopper Insights & Analytics,” the MPA’s report discovered that TVer, an ad-supported streaming platform created by a consortium of native broadcasters, has carved out a formidable viewers over the previous yr. With a broad content material providing comprised of free-to-air Japanese dramas, selection reveals, information and sports activities, TVer captured 16 % of complete premium video streamed in Japan from January to Aug. 21 (Amazon Prime Video scored 26 % of complete consumption and Netflix had 10 %).

“The premium video phase in Japan is more and more aggressive,” mentioned MPA govt director Vivek Couto. “Native content material is vital, as illustrated by broadcast TV-consortium owned TVer’s progress over 2020-21, whereas Prime Video and Netflix’s licensed anime libraries have contributed over 40 % of consumption on their platforms throughout 2021.”

“Extra competitors and class growth is imminent as Disney+ expands with Star and native content material in October 2021,” Couto added.
The MPA’s analysis was produced through its proprietary AMPD Analysis Platform in partnership with Tokyo-based agency Intage. Collectively the researchers measured and analyzed streaming media consumption throughout the important thing VOD providers in use in Japan.