Netflix Inks Deal With Japanese Anime Studio To Woo Asian Audiences Amid Slumping Numbers

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) has inked a deal with Japan-based animation studio Colorido as it looks to drive growth in Asia.

What Happened: The streaming giant is co-producing three films with Studio Colorido, reported Reuters.

The partnership will reportedly include “Drifting Home,” which is slated for a September release. The studio’s work includes films such as “Shashinkan” and “Burn The Witch.”

"In order to ... win globally, we must win locally first," said Kaata Sakamoto, Netflix vice president of content for Japan, according to Reuters.

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Why It Matters: Half of Netflix’s global users tuned into animation programming, while 90% of the SVOD firm’s Japanese users watch such content, reported Reuters.

Netflix is witnessing growth in the Asia-Pacific region, including in Japan, where the company had 5 million users as of September 2020.

"We are ramping up our investment in Japan content, not just in volume but in a variety of genre and formats,” said Sakamoto, according to Reuters.

This month, Netflix reported its first subscriber loss since 2011 in the numbers for the first quarter of 2022. Netflix revenue grew 9.8% year-over-year to $7.71 billion missing the estimate of $7.93 billion.

Price Action: On Friday, Netflix shares closed 5.5% lower at $198.40 in the regular session. The shares declined another 1.2% in the after-hours trading to $196, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

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Photo courtesy: Netflix