Netflix inks Japan studio deal in anime push

Anime has proven a draw for Netflix in both Japan, where almost 90% of its users watch it.

Netflix Inc on Tuesday announced a multi-film deal with Japan's Studio Colorido, as the streaming giant ramps up its anime offering and looks to Asia for growth.

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Netflix is co-producing three feature films with Studio Colorido including "Drifting Home", which premieres in September, as it invests more deeply in original anime. The film will also premiere in cinemas domestically.

Anime has proven a draw for Netflix in both Japan, where almost 90% of its users watch it, and globally, where half of users tuned in last year, with rivals including Amazon and Disney also racing to offer such content.

"In order to ... win globally, we must win locally first," Kaata Sakamoto, vice president of content for Japan, told Reuters in an interview.

The Asia-Pacific region was the lone bright spot in Netflix's first-quarter earnings, in which the world's dominant streaming service reported it lost subscribers for the firsttime in more than a decade. The company said it was seeing "nice growth" in the region, including in Japan, where it reported 5 million users in September 2020.

Netflix offers access to a broader audience than the hardcore anime fans traditionally targeted by the industry, Studio Colorido President Koji Yamamoto told Reuters.