the center of Japan Toyo Keizai online published an article saying that the “subscriber crisis of the platform Netflix“, which refers to the continued decline in the number of subscribers to the service worldwide, have been stopped by the company to be interested in producing anime projects in Japan.
«Netflix’s future was in jeopardy after two consecutive quarters of subscriber decline from early 2022. Third quarter (July-September) results announced on 18 October showed a change in trend, with an increase of 2.41 million paid members. Global growth was led by the Asia-Pacific market with an increase of 1.43 million, while the markets of North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which had continued to decline, also improved positively.».
«Since April, when it announced its first membership cut, Netflix has taken several steps, including cutting costs through layoffs. In November 2022 a new plan will be launched, “Búnús le Abíciód”. The monthly fee for the new plan is 790 yen (including tax) in Japan. ¥200 cheaper than the previous cheapest plan, the Basic».
«It is expected that the number of subscribers to the service will increase with the introduction of low-cost plans, but the impact on results will not be known until the next quarter (October-December). The company is forecasting a 4.5 million increase in subscribers compared to the third quarter and a $67 million increase in sales, but operating profit is expected to decrease by $300 million compared to the year above, mainly because due to the effects of the year. foreign exchange».
«It’s face to face on Netflix. Uncomfortable voices are heard in Japanese production companies regarding original anime production. “In 2022, we have no original animation projects“Said an executive of a production company involved in several Netflix animation productions. Another animation production executive said, “Not only has the number of projects accepted decreased, but there have also been cases where projects that were about to start have been suddenly stopped, so the impact has been huge.“».
«Various animation production sources have told similar stories, and it is believed that Netflix will reduce the number of animation projects it produces in Japan starting in 2022.. Due to the timing of the decline in subscriber numbers, it is widely believed that the company is cutting animation production to cut costs. Netflix’s global fan event “TUDUM Japan” held in September kicked off with a mad display of new anime, showing the company’s focus on anime, which is understandably confusing for anime production houses.».
«When asked about this, Yuji Yamano, who oversees the acquisition of animation content at Netflix, declined to say whether the number of original animation productions would increase or decrease in the future. However, regarding the impact of the decline in the number of subscribers on Japanese animation production, he said, “There will be no change in the fact that we will continue to offer works that appeal to our audience. We will periodically review our organization to ensure that we can invest more in these works. We are currently focused on achieving a balance of mainstream animated films that can be enjoyed by a wider audience, as well as what today’s animation fans are looking for.“».
«Instead of simply reducing the number of projects produced, the strategy seems to be moving towards a more targeted and focused investment in animated feature films. However, there are likely more serious issues behind Netflix’s current change in strategy than declining subscribers. It’s a fundamental problem that there aren’t many successful animated films among Netflix’s exclusive releases».
font: Toyo Keizai online
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