"Squid Game"
Netflix Asia-Pacific Content Spend Expected to Reach $1.9 Billion This Year
March 6, 2023
Netflix is expected to spend upwards of $1.9 billion on original content from the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the new second season of global Korean hit “Squid Game.” The worldwide SVOD leader is projected to up content spending in the region 15% from $1.65 billion in 2022, according to new data from Media Partners Asia. Revenue in the region is expected to increase 12% to $4 billion, from $3.57 billion a year earlier.
The report contends that Netflix’s APAC revenue growth will be driven in part by advertising revenue in Australia, and increased user revenue in Japan and Korea. Netflix ended 2022 with more than 38 million Asia-Pacific subscribers, up from 32 million at the end of 2021.
“The ad tier has seen a slow start in the three APAC markets,” Vivek Couto, co-founder of MPA, said in the report. “Australia is expected to see greater momentum through 2023, helping boost subscribers and revenue in a market where churn has been increasing.”
Indeed, the report contends that Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, India and the Philippines account for the highest penetration of subscriber account sharing — a practice Netflix is aggressively pushing back on.
In late February, Netflix announced a series of subscription price cuts in those five countries, excluding Taiwan, in addition to Bulgaria, Croatia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Slovakia and Yemen.
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