Netflix will grow revenues this year by 12% year-on-year to exceed $4bn compared with 9% growth in 2022.
Netflix will invest $1.9bn on local content in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) in 2023 as revenues in the region rise by 12%, according to a report by Media Partners Asia.
Last year, content spend grew by 9%, the report said. Netflix’s regional spend on acquisitions and originals will represent 47% of revenues in 2023.
India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines collectively will contribute over 20% of Netflix’s APAC revenues in 2023.
“Netflix’s local content investment will reach US$1.9 billion in 2023, representing 47% of revenues, driven by Korea, Japan and then followed by India, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia,” the report indicated.
This year’s boost will be driven by gains due 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, said: “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 its 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% in aggregate to 2023 revenues.”
Dhivya T, Lead Analyst and Head of Content Insights at MPA, added: “Netflix’s AsiaPac content investments have a global impact. 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. 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%, followed by US series at 25% and US movies at 12%, with Japanese anime at 10%.
In 2022, Netflix released 29 exclusive Korean dramas, of which 6 were among the top 10 reaching titles in APAC 2022, according to data from MPA subsidiary AMPD Research.
