More than half of Asian content hours viewed on Netflix this year are viewed outside the US region
singapore — Netflix unveiled a plan on Thursday to make 17 more original productions in Asia, including Thai and Chinese language shows, as the US firm seeks to attract new international users through more local content.
The plan, which includes 9 productions in India and 5 anime series, should help ease concern that the video streaming pioneer is running out of space to expand in developed markets.
Netflix reported bumper quarterly earnings last month as it exceeded forecasts in both the US and international markets, with the bulk of new subscribers coming from outside the United States where the company has been investing aggressively.
“More than half of Asian content hours viewed on Netflix this year are viewed outside the region,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said when unveiling the plan at the firm’s content showcase event in Singapore.
“So we have confidence that our upcoming slate of Asian productions will find fans in their home countries and abroad.”
Netflix has earmarked $8 billion for content this year, and had spent $6.9 billion as at the end of its third quarter.
On Thursday, the company said the new productions will include anime series such as Trese, based on a Philippine novel of the same name, and Pacific Rim, an adventure story about two siblings searching for their missing parents.
Netflix will make two Thai language originals, including Shimmers, a drama series about 5 teenagers at an isolated school in northern Thailand. It will also broadcast Triad Princess, a Chinese-language original from Taiwan in which the protagonist seeks independence in defiance of her Triad father.
The new titles build on Netflix’s recent forays into Asian productions, including India’s Sacred Games, Japanese anime series
DEVILMAN crybaby, and variety comedy BUSTED! in South Korea.