The Japanese media Toyo Keizai Online published an article stating that the " Netflix platform subscriber crisis ", which refers to the constant decline in the number of subscribers to the service around the world, would be causing the company to stop being interested in production. of anime projects in Japan.
« Netflix's future was in jeopardy after two consecutive quarters of declining subscribers since the beginning of 2022. The results of the third quarter (July-September) announced last October 18 showed a change in trend, with an increase of 2.41 million paying members. The Asia-Pacific market led global growth with an increase of 1.43 million, while the North American and European, Middle Eastern and African markets, which had continued to decline, also recovered 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, "Basic with Advertising", will be launched. The monthly fee for the new plan is 790 yen (including tax) in Japan. 200 yen cheaper than the previous cheapest plan, the Basic ».
« The number of subscribers to the service is expected to increase with the introduction of low-cost plans, but the impact on the results will not be known until the next quarter (October-December). The company forecasts that the number of subscribers will increase by 4.5 million compared to the third quarter and that sales will increase by $67 million, but operating profit is expected to decrease by $300 million compared to the year. above, mainly due to the effects of foreign exchange ».
« Netflix faces headwinds. Uncomfortable voices are heard in Japan's production companies about the production of original anime. " In 2022, we don't have any original animation projects, " said an executive of a production company that has participated in several Netflix animation productions. Another animation production executive said, “ Not only has the number of projects being accepted decreased, but there have also been cases where projects that were about to start have suddenly stopped, so the impact has been serious “ ».
Similar stories have been told by various animation production sources, and it is believed that Netflix is going to reduce the number of animation projects it produces in Japan starting in 2022 . The timing of the drop in subscribers has also led to the widespread belief that the company is cutting animation production to cut costs. Netflix's global fan event "TUDUM Japan" held in September opened with a furious unveiling of new anime, showcasing the company's focus on anime, which is understandably confusing for anime production houses .
« Asked about this, Yuji Yamano, who oversees the acquisition of animation content at Netflix, would not say whether the number of original animation productions would increase or decrease in the future. However, on the impact of the drop in subscribers on Japanese animation production, he said, “ There will be no change in the fact that we will continue to offer works that our viewers like. 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 animated feature films that can be enjoyed by a wider audience, in addition to what today's animation fans are looking for “ ”.
« Instead of just reducing the number of projects produced, the strategy seems to be shifting towards a more targeted and concentrated investment in animated feature films. However, there are likely more serious issues behind Netflix's change in strategy right now than declining subscribers. It's a fundamental problem that there aren't many hit animated movies among Netflix exclusive releases ."
Source: Toyo Keizai Online
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