Japan’s Yoshimoto Kogyo Invests in iflix

Japanese conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. has made a strategic investment in iflix, with the two establishing an exclusive joint venture.

The joint venture will see Yoshimoto Group’s most popular content being showcased across iflix’s territories in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the distribution of iflix’s content in Japan. The partnership will also see the production of localized versions of formats out of Japan, expanding iflix’s original content offering.

Hideaki Shimizu, VP of Yoshimoto Kogyo, said, “This time investing in significant media in Asia will be a big step for Yoshimoto Kogyo’s Asian strategy.”

Mark Britt, iflix co-founder and group CEO, added, “We have an incredible opportunity to deliver a uniquely localized product for iflix audiences based on proven Japanese comedy formats with mass appeal through this joint venture. Yoshimoto Kogyo has set the standard for popular, culture-defining millennial comedy content. We are thrilled to collaborate with them to experiment, explore and create new content to cater to a mobile-savvy, discerning global iflix audience.”