Report: Netflix to See Boost in AsiaPac Revenues

AsiaPac revenues at Netflix are expected to increase by 12 percent this year to $4 billion, with the streamer’s local content investments rising to $1.9 billion, per a new study from Media Partners Asia (MPA).

The forecasted 12 percent gain this year tops last year’s 9 percent growth, MPA indicates. Netflix’s regional spend on acquisitions and originals will represent 47 percent of revenues in 2023.

This year’s boost will be driven by gains thanks to the ad tier in Australia, higher ARPU growth in Japan and Korea and improvements in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Commenting on the findings, Vivek Couto, executive director of MPA, noted, “The ad tier has seen a slow start in the three APAC markets. Australia is expected to see greater momentum through 2023, helping boost subscribers and revenues in a market where churn has been increasing. Japan will continue to grow as Netflix strives to grow impact with new scripted non-anime shows. Japan is critical to Netflix’s prospects in the region with the market contributing over a quarter to the company’s total APAC revenues in 2023. India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines will contribute through a mix of subscriber and ARPU growth with impact in the SEA markets likely to be felt especially in 2H as these four markets contribute more than 20 oercebt in aggregate to 2023 revenues.”

Korea, Japan, India, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia will be the key markets for Netflix’s AsiaPac content investments, MPA notes.

“Netflix’s AsiaPac content investments have global impact,” said Dhivya T, lead analyst and head of content insights at MPA. “Leading Japanese series and anime together with Korean dramas and movies as well as movies from Indonesia and India have ranked among the globally top streamed titles over the past 12 months through January 2023. Last year, Netflix released 29 exclusive Korean dramas, of which six were among the top ten reaching titles in APAC in 2022, according to MPA subsidiary AMPD Research. In early 2023, unscripted titles such as Singles Inferno season two and Physical 100 have trended strongly. Netflix’s English global hit originals have also performed well in APAC, led by Stranger Things and Wednesday. Indian (Mismatched season two), Taiwanese (Mom, Don’t Do That!) and Indonesian (The Big 4) originals had travelability with regional impact in 2022.”

Korean dramas dominate AsiaPac viewership, at 28 percent, followed by U.S. series at 25 percent and U.S. movies at 12 percent, with Japanese anime at 10 percent.