Netflix is forecast to increase content spending in Asia-Pacific by 15 percent to $1.9 billion in 2023, according to Media Partners Asia. As a result, the report released this Monday expects the service's revenue in the region to rise by 12 percent this year. Netflix pledged to spend $500 million just on Korea in 2021 and used that money to produce drama films and scripted series, among them the now infamous Squid Game. Scripted non-anime series are now supposed to be boosted in Japan this year, according to the release.
While Netflix has a strong subscriber base in Korea - as seen in data by Flixpatrol - subscriber numbers are somewhat weaker in Japan. The report concludes that Indonesia and India will be the fastest-growing markets for Netflix in 2023. While in Indonesia, relative subscriber numbers are on the level of Japan, homegrown services still rule supreme in India where Netflix accounts make up only 3 percent of all video streaming accounts. The most popular services here are AltBalaji, Eros Now and Disney+, which collaborates with local service Hotstar in the country.
While intense competition has also diminished relative subscriber numbers in the U.S., Europe is the continent where Netflix has stood its ground the most in the ongoing streaming wars, especially in smaller countries with fewer competitors, for example Austria.
