Korean Dramas, Japanese Anime Lead AsiaPac Viewing Trends

Across nine Asian markets this year, 75 percent of premium online video viewing was on content from the region, per new data from Media Partners Asia (MPA).

The MPA report, The Rise of Asian Content, utilizes data from MPA subsidiary AMPD Research, tracking premium content viewership by 40,000 users across ten AsiaPac markets: Australia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. Platforms measured are Prime Video, Astro Go, Binge, Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar, Hulu Japan, iQIYI, MyVideo, Netflix, Stan, TrueID, Tver, Tving, U-Next, Vidio, Vision+, Viu, Watcha Play, Wavve and  WeTV.

In nine markets (excluding Australia), Asian-originated content dominates, with Korean dramas at 29 percent, Chinese content at 11 percent, Japanese animation at 10 percent, Korean variety and reality at 7 percent and Indonesian at 5 percent. MPA estimates that about 21 percent of viewership is on American content.

MPA analyst Dhivya T noted: “Korean, Japanese and U.S. genres demonstrated broad, regional appeal with content distributed on major leading streaming services. The top reaching categories in 2022 in terms of monthly reach were Korean dramas and romance; Japanese anime; U.S. science fiction and fantasy; Korean crime and thrillers; U.S. crime and thrillers; and U.S. comedy. Indonesian drama and romance is the top reaching Southeast Asian category. It enjoys a significant domestic audience but has yet to prove sustained regional travelability and impact.”

Across genres, Korean content scored a 30 percent share of measured premium online viewership this year. Four of the top 15 Korean shows were Netflix originals, with other top titles also streaming on Netflix while shared with other networks and streamers in Korea. Disney+ and Prime Video have also emerged as key providers of Korean shows.

Japanese content is faring well across the region, particularly in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

In Indonesia, the biggest market in Southeast Asia, originals from Vidio, WeTV and Disney+ Hotstar dominated premium video viewership. Elsewhere in the Southeast Asian region, top genres include horror from Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, LGBT/boys love dramas from Thailand and Malaysian kids’ animation.

The leading content producer in AsiaPac is Korea’s CJ ENM, with 17 percent of measured Asian content viewership. Korean broadcasters SBS, JTBC, KBS and MBC also contributed significantly, MPA said. Key Southeast Asian producers include Thai GMM Studios and Indonesia’s Screenplay Productions.