Amid continued cuts to its U.S. Scripted productions, Netflix is increasingly looking to the APAC region for new ideas. According to Ampere Analysis, in the first eight months of 2024, 33% of all new first-run Scripted TV series ordered by Netflix stemmed from its APAC markets, ahead of Western Europe (WE) which captured 29% of these titles in the year to date (YTD). This represents a four percentage point gain in volume share for the region compared to 2023, and 9% rise on 2022- the year in which new Scripted APAC series overtook North American series.
Netflix continues to broaden its geographic footprint as it reduces Scripted TV production in the U.S., due to strategic refocusing towards more profit-driven content investments and the aftermath of last year’s strike action. For the first time, 2024 is set to see the streamer’s series orders in the U.S. dominated by Unscripted, rather than Scripted, TV series. Meanwhile, it has maintained its Scripted series commissioning volumes in its maturing Western Europe market, while underscoring its commitment to highly exportable Scripted series from the UK and Spain in particular – Netflix’s most significant production hubs outside the U.S.
Netflix’s commissioning in the APAC region serves the increasing appetite for –and openness to– international content by consumers, such as Japanese Anime and Korean Drama. Notably though, Netflix’s Scripted Originals strategy in the region has been marked by a stark reduction in Korean Scripted series orders in 2024 YTD within an increasingly saturated landscape, while more emerging SVoD markets such as Thailand and Taiwan witnessed a record number of new Scripted commissions by Netflix, including a flurry of Sci-Fi & Fantasy titles: 64% of all of Netflix’s first-run Scripted series in the genre have stemmed from the APAC region in 2024 YTD, mostly non-Anime titles.
The APAC market has been steadily gaining prominence within Netflix’s international content strategy, reflecting revenue prospects in a region forecast by Ampere to yield the highest net subscriber additions for the streamer in 2024 (+7.7m subscribers). After North America, WE continues to capture the largest total subscriber base among the streamers’ international regions. But APAC surpassed Latin America in subscriber numbers in Q2 2024 to become Netflix’s third largest region. Its current commissioning strategy, with its strong APAC focus, is likely to further entrench the region’s centrality to Netflix’ international future.
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