Key takeaways
▶ Market research firm Ampere Analysis said on October 25 that viewing hours for Asia-Pacific (APAC) content on Netflix reached 19.8 billion in the first half of this year, up 29% from the same period three years ago.
▶ Korean content was watched for 8.6 billion hours worldwide in the first half, while Japanese content was watched for 6.1 billion hours.
▶ In Korea, the top 100 titles accounted for 71% of total viewing, with a small number of hits driving the figures. In Japan, the top 100 made up 44%, with long-running anime franchises such as “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “One Piece” and “Demon Slayer” sustaining viewership.
Netflix has cut around 1,000 jobs amid slowing growth, but viewing hours have risen sharply in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which includes South Korea and Japan.
Market research firm Ampere Analysis said on October 25 (local time) that viewing hours for APAC content on Netflix totaled 19.8 billion in the first half of this year, up 29% from the same period three years earlier.
That figure far outpaced Netflix’s overall viewing growth of 4%. APAC has been the fastest-growing region on Netflix since 2021, and Ampere forecasts that it will account for 36% of the company’s subscriber additions this year.
◆ Korea has breakout hits; Japan has enduring favorites
South Korea and Japan are both growth markets, but their viewing patterns differ. Korean content was watched for 8.6 billion hours worldwide in the first half. The top 100 titles accounted for 71% of that total, indicating a concentration around a small number of hit releases. “Get Schooled” led with 515 million hours, followed by “Can This Love Be Translated?” with 378 million. When a new title takes off, it can draw hundreds of millions of viewing hours.
Japanese content drew 6.1 billion viewing hours, less than Korean content, but the top 100 titles accounted for just 44% of the total. This points to viewing spread across a broader range of titles rather than concentrated in a few. “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “One Piece” and “Demon Slayer” each drew more than 100 million viewing hours and have become consistent performers. Their hundreds of episodes and expansion into games and films are seen as factors that keep audiences interested in the original intellectual property (IP).
“APAC’s rise is not a temporary phenomenon but a structural shift that has been unfolding over several years,” said Ara Moto, a senior analyst at Ampere. “Korea is driving short-term viewing with a small number of hits, while Japan is sustaining viewership through long-running anime IP. The two are supporting growth in different ways.”
Growth has also extended beyond South Korea and Japan. Over the past three years, viewing hours for Indian content rose 60% and those for Chinese content increased 124%, based on first-half figures. Netflix does not operate in mainland China. Viewing of Chinese content has risen alongside subscriber growth in Chinese-speaking markets such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as in Thailand and Malaysia.
◆ Layoffs as mature markets stall
The slowdown in mature markets has helped make APAC a new growth driver. Subscriber growth in North America and Western Europe has fallen below 10% over the past two years, a slowdown compared with growth of 25% to 45% before 2020.
Netflix’s total viewing hours rose only around 2% in the first half of this year, and co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged, “We’re not growing as quickly as we’d like.”
On the 14th, Netflix announced in an internal memo from co-CEOs Sarandos and Greg Peters that it would lay off around 6% of its workforce, or about 1,000 employees. The company had 16,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025.
The cuts were concentrated in product, technology, legal and human resources, and also included some roles in publicity and marketing, gaming, and film and TV content. It is the company’s largest round of layoffs since it cut 450 jobs in two rounds in 2022.
There will also be a change at the top of the content division. Bela Bajaria, chief content officer who led investment in non-English-language productions, including Korean dramas, is stepping down. Peter Rice, who oversaw ABC, FX and Hulu at Disney, will take over on the 26th.