Streaming’s Next Big Bet: Global Content That Speaks to Zoomers

In a sign of true industry maturity, premium subscription video on demand (SVOD) services such as Netflix, Disney+, Max and Paramount+ have more or less clawed a path to profitability (accountingtrickery notwithstanding). In essence, streaming has now left its adolescence and reached early adulthood. As a result, strategic focus will slowly begin to shift away from converting linear TV viewers to streaming subscribers (still an ongoing effort) and towards developing, growing and maintaining monetizable connections with the next crop of consumers with disposable income. 

Attracting a strong coalition of Gen Z viewers can help differentiate both premium general entertainment SVODs as well as more niche services. In that effort, Japanese anime and non-English content is uniquely positioned to capture the occasionally fickle interest of audiences in that 15-24 age range. To understand how, we’ll look at the economic upside of this specific programming and the ways in which it coincides with Gen Z’s unique content preferences and consumption habits. 

It’s All About the Money

Year-to-date, Naruto is the most in-demand Japanese language series available on Netflix and Hulu in the US while My Hero Academia is the most in-demand Japanese language series available on Amazon Prime Video, according to Parrot Analytics. The latter is also available on Netflix, Hulu and Peacock (to say nothing of anime and non-English streamers such as Crunchyroll and HiDive). 

In just Q2 alone, Naruto is estimated to have contributed more than $21 million in combined UCAN revenue to Netflix and Hulu while My Hero Academia is projected to account for nearly $15 million in revenue contribution across the four SVODs listed, per Parrot’s Content Valuation metrics. (Licensedprogramming and international content is typically a more cost-effective content strategy than in-house US original development). This is based on how many subscribers these two shows helped attract and retain. On that front, their voluminous libraries are significant assets. 

Naruto boasts 220 total episodes while sequel series Naruto: Shippuden (500) and Boruto: Naruto Next Generation (293) also enjoyed long runs. My Hero Academia has run for 159 episodes, with a new season arriving in 2025, as well as four animated films and a potential live-action adaptation. No streaming original series is in the same zip code of potential long-tail engagement based on library size. Anime is not yet a mass market popularity driver, but those prodigious episode counts coupled with the very committed (and growing) anime audience represents months of recurring revenue for SVODs. 

Gen Z Preferences & Behavior

Gen Z are mostly digital natives who grew up in streaming-first entertainment worlds where multi-screen internet activity was the norm. Technology has made the world a smaller place, with people able to traverse global borders with a click of the mouse. In doing so, technology has actually made a viewer’s entertainment ecosystem larger. Gen Z is more open and connected to global communities, which has influenced content preferences. 

Specifically, YouTube has acted as a door to the rest of the world and a springboard for subcultures and niche interests to take hold in younger consumers. This has not only boosted anime, but non-English content in general (Netflix lays claim to several foreign language ratings wins across Money Heist, Lupin, All Of Us Are Dead and more). Korean culture across film, TV, music, literature and fashion is arguably the most impactful recent example of global resonance. 

To be clear, Japanese anime and non-English content still contend with a very real viewership ceiling in America. Outside of Squid Game, you’re unlikely to see these programming lanes generate chart-topping viewership domestically. But this type of programming helps build brand loyalty with younger consumers on a global scale. 

According to Parrot, the top 10 markets in global travelability for manga adaptations in Q1 2024 were mostly populous and generally high-yield consumer markets: Japan, US, China, France, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Netherlands, UK, Germany. There’s a reason why niche services such as Crunchyroll and HiDive and major platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are investing in the space. 

More than 70% of the audience for Japanese shows and 60% for Korean is made up of people younger than 30 years old, per Parrot. In a study done by Polygon, 42% of Gen Z was found to watch anime weekly. Anime over-indexes with young male audiences which can help balance out the female-skewing demographic profile of most major streamers. Money follows consumer time spent so as streaming continually emphasizes ad-supported models, locking in the attention spans and spends of Gen Z is crucial for long-term health. 

You’re not investing in anime and foreign language content to deliver the next Game of Thrones. Instead, you’re building market share and shaping positive brand perception in the aggregate at cost with the most important demo of the future. If that’s not a sign of industry maturity and sound strategy, I don’t know what is.