Japanese animation produced by Netflix is based on internationalization

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in Japan, an important region in the Asia-Pacific region, Netflix's main content is animation, and it has continuously improved in the initial setbacks. Japan has a population of about 127 million. As of the end of 2019, Netflix has about 4 million paying users, making it the country with the largest number of paying users in Asia. To achieve today's results, to a large extent, Netflix relies on the production of international Japanese animation works.

Similar to when it started in the United States, as the first stop in the Asia-Pacific region, Netflix implemented a content strategy in Japan that bought copyrights for a large number of animations, such as the classic works "Death Note", "Fullmetal Alchemist" and some popular new fans. , Hoping to gain attention with abundant animation resources.

However, Netflix's "monthly payment" model is somewhat "unacceptable" to Xinfan's inherent production and broadcast methods. Netflix also realized the instability of simply buying copyrights, so it decided to change its strategy and directly participate in the investment and production of animation. . Foreign media The Verge reported that Netflix had planned to produce 30 new animations in collaboration with Japanese animation companies in 2018. You know, according to the "2017 Japan Animation Industry Report", only 356 animations were produced in 2016 throughout Japan. Today, Netflix does both original animations ("B: The Begining", "AICOIncarnation") and adaptations ("Violet Eternal Garden" and "Devil City") in Japan, but Netflix understands that its investment in Japanese animation is still in its infancy At this stage, adapting high-quality IP is undoubtedly a more stable choice-in 2020, Netflix and six animation related persons holding mature works will start a new cooperation.

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"AICOIncarnation" Taiki Sakurai, chief producer of Netflix's animation department, said that the new collaboration is an important part of Netflix's investment strategy in Japanese animation. Netflix hopes creators can tell stories boldly, and Netflix is responsible for bringing their work to fans around the world.

One of the six partners, the author of "Goth's Palm Breaking Event" and Japanese horror novel writing master Yi Yi believes that adapting his work to Netflix's animation work requires a lot of determination, but he wants to broadcast his own to 190 countries and regions. The work is very exciting. At the same time, Japanese animation produced by Netflix is based on internationalization , because half of Netflix users will watch the animation. Netflix's product director Todd Yellin once commented on "WIRED": "Of the users who use Netflix to watch animations, the Japanese account for only 10% of the total users, and the remaining 90% are all over the world."

Netflix, which has been deeply involved in content for many years, has its own methodology. Netflix advocates that intuitive indicators such as age, gender, and geography do not make much sense. It is better to see whether the content of the animation itself meets the mainstream portraits under big data analysis. Dan Rayburn, an analyst at market technology research and analysis company Frost & Sullivan, pointed out that the animations produced by Netflix are based on their own algorithms and surveys, and can be said to be "designed" animations for people all over the world. Therefore, Netflix is more willing to choose to produce science fiction and fantasy works that European and American audiences like, such as "Crybaby" and "B: The Beginning", which are hard-core works, which are not the same as the popular daily and funny themes in Japan. Unlike the internationalization of Riman, the successful Netflix original Japanese dramas are all drawn from stories that are very local in Japan.

In 2016, the high-profile word "Spark" scored 9.3 on Douban. The play was adapted from the novel of the same name and tells the story of a pair of Japanese talents. The 2019 Netflix original series "Nude Director" focuses on the Japanese adult industry, which also caused a huge response. The production cost of a single episode of "Nude Director" is 100 million yen, equivalent to about 6.4 million yuan, while the production cost of a single episode of a Japanese TV station is generally only one-tenth of that of "Nude Director".

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"Nude Director"

Compared with the overall smoothness of Japan and South Korea , Netflix faces a more complicated situation in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, etc.) . The people of Southeast Asia who like to watch Korean dramas and Hollywood blockbusters have a population base of more than 600 million, but the language, politics and culture are relatively scattered. As of the first quarter of 2019, Netflix's Southeast Asian users were only 1 million. Netflix's biggest problem in Southeast Asia is the need to compete with local streaming media that has a first-mover advantage.

As of the end of 2018, although Netflix has a 31% market share in the Southeast Asian market in terms of paying users, on the one hand, iflix, Hooq, and Viu each followed by 22%, 15%, and 9% share; another In terms of aspects, Southeast Asian users are more accustomed to free streaming services, so local streaming has its own unique advantages in terms of cost and content.

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Image and data source: The Asian Post, Dataxis Webinar Iflix, established in 2014, is the largest streaming media platform in Malaysia, known as "Netflix of Southeast Asia". With the cooperation with telecom operators and the market positioning for users in emerging markets, iflix has attracted 25 million users (as of the first quarter of 2019, mainly free users) with a monthly fee of US $ 3, and obtained MGM, Investment by companies such as Indonesian media giant SCM. Hooq was established in cooperation with Singapore telecommunications company Singtel, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures, and has operations in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and other places.

Founded in 2015, Hooq has the advantage of being able to share parts of Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures, as well as being able to directly participate in the creation of localized works. The derivative work of its "On the Job" has been well received. Hong Kong telecommunications giant PCCW established Viu in 2015 and focuses on providing content in Korean, Chinese and South Asian languages. Viu has produced a number of original drama series, including TV series co-produced by the Mainland and Hong Kong, such as Eclipse Storm and PTU Mobile Force.

However, with streaming media in Southeast Asia, Netflix still strives to develop in the region with its international content, investment in local dramas, and low-cost strategies. First, Netflix can provide popular episodes such as "House of Cards"; second, Netflix purchases a large number of well-known works in Southeast Asia to attract new users, including the Indonesian action movie "Headshot" and the thriller "Horrible Night" The latter also attracted many viewers outside Southeast Asia to watch; in addition, in the second half of 2019, Netflix launched low-cost packages of $ 3.5 per month in Malaysia and Indonesia (mobile devices only).
 
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In addition to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, many areas in Asia are still under development, including India and Taiwan.

The first original Indian drama series "Holy Game" created by Netflix attracted 1.2 million Indians to subscribe to Netflix, and the "Delhi Crime", which focused on the 2012 bus wheel rape case, is also well-known. In 2020, Netflix plans to invest 30 billion rupees, or about 420 million US dollars, in original Indian content to launch 22 original movies and 11 Indian TV series. Similar to Southeast Asian countries, in addition to content, pricing is also a key part of attracting Indian users. Unlike Amazon ’s new strategy of pulling a $ 14 annual subscription in India, Netflix has developed a mobile-only plan exclusive to India, with prices as low as $ 2.8 / month. In Taiwan, China, the original Chinese-language dramas "Sinner Dreamer", "Ji Dao Qian Jin Jin", and "Ghost Bride" jointly produced by teams from many places all responded well.

However, Netflix changed its mind in time and launched the first Chinese reality show "Zhou You Ji" which will be launched on March 21st with Jay Chou as the protagonist. In an episode of "Zhou You Ji", Jay Chou and his friends visited the Netflix Singapore Asia Pacific headquarters.

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"Zhou You Ji"


In general, Netflix faces differences in economic development level and content aesthetics in various countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region, so the focus of business and content strategies are also different. Under the competitive pressure of local streaming media, Netflix has been constantly advancing the creation model of "local original works", expanding outsourced copyright libraries, and also trying to adopt different pricing strategies.

Netflix knows that in order to succeed in the Asia-Pacific region, the three are indispensable for sufficient money, solicitation of local talent, and grasp of local culture. After "Kingdom", Netflix is still preparing for another Asian local project, Netflix is running into the Asia-Pacific, and is still building its own Asian "Kingdom".
 
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