Summary
- Anime viewership on Netflix has significantly increased, showing a huge potential for growth and dominance.
- Netflix's strategic focus on anime led to a spike in viewership, with an increase in new and classic titles.
- Data analysis suggests Netflix should continue to expand its anime library and cater to weekly episode preferences for sustained success.
Anime is eating Netflix. Indeed, over the last few years, anime has increasingly dominated and transformed the streaming service behemoth. As revealed in an extensive and detailed analysis of its raw viewership data, the rise of anime in Netflix is nowhere close to stopping.
Considering the ubiquity of anime outside of Japan, its influence on everything the incredible influence of anime creators like Akira Toriyama and Hayao Miyazaki, it is not hard to see why so many people have bought into the idea that anime is becoming the prominent form of entertainment.
However, belief is one thing and proof is another. To be sure, outside anecdotal information, it’s been quite difficult to parse out exact anime viewership numbers from the world’s most common way of accessing anime: via streaming service. However, late last year, according to Anime News Network, Netflix provided - for the first time - access to a full and unadulterated look at its viewership numbers.
Netflix finally gave us something to work with to understand just what is happening on the world's biggest streaming platform.
When the smoke was clear from a deep dive into the analysis, it was clear that for Netflix anime is becoming a lot more than just another genre to have on its platform.
Netflix's Treasure Trove of Information Proves Anime Is Becoming Its Biggest Draw
Analysis of 2023's Viewership Data Shows Netflix Should Do More With Anime
The data Netflix released so far has come in two batches. The first batch, which dropped in December 2023, gave numbers for the first half of 2023. The second batch was made available in May and provides the numbers for the second half of 2023. Netflix did not provide any analysis of the numbers – it was just a raw data drop.
But thanks to the hard work of Miles Thomas Atherton, who previously worked at Crunchyroll, and now runs his own anime marketing consulting firm, we can see and understand what is behind the numbers as it concerns anime on Netflix. Atherton’s analysis, which appears in two separate articles for Anime News Network, concludes that ultimately anime has been very good for the streaming giant, and suggests that perhaps they should lean more into it.
Although the data is only specific to Netflix, the streaming giant’s status, as well as its own very vocal decision to aggressively expand its footprint in the anime space, means that this is yet another sign that anime is becoming the dominating force in the entertainment industry.
When Netflix's General Viewership Dropped, Anime Views Soared
Anime Viewership Increased by Over 14% During the Second Half of 2023
According to Atherton, in the first half of 2023, Netflix experienced a considerable aggregate bump in its customers who watched anime over prior years. However, that rise was not statistically better than other services like Crunchyroll. But, because Netflix’s base is so much bigger than other services, even a small increase in the anime-watching time of a customer means a massive overall boost to anime viewership.
These data represent that Netflix is riding off of the success of anime rather than the other way around.
Incredibly, anime viewership increased significantly - more than 14 percent - over the second half of 2023, all while the viewership of Netflix’s full library of content decreased over the same period. As Atherton described it, Netflix’s anime watchers increased their anime viewing by three hours from July to December, meaning they watch, on average, more hours of anime than Crunchyroll customers. In short, anime is the one growth area for Netflix, and the potential returns are massive.
Netflix's Anime-Focused Strategy Yielded Great Results
An Increase in Availability of Both New Series and Well-Known Classics Led to More Views
While Netflix is certainly happy with those overall numbers, they don’t tell the whole story. Indeed, there’s the issue of why anime viewership grew so significantly during the last half of the year. Based on the data, Atherton suggests that whereas during the first half of the year Netflix didn’t have much of a focused strategy towards anime, by July 2023 their anime efforts became more pointed, and as a result, so did their viewership.
First among these decisions was increasing the availability of both new and legacy anime. According to the data, “new titles” spark interest, as do older well-known titles. The point is that anime fans want to watch anime, so by simply increasing the library of anime content, s have a reason to watch more anime. Moreover, since anime fans are likely to already know what new titles are “must-see”, increasing the broadcasting of newer titles will necessarily increase viewership.
In the same way, anime watchers are also likely to know what legacy series, like Hunter X Hunter, are worth watching, so an increase in their availability will automatically increase anime viewership. Indeed, according to the data, the more anime Netflix broadcasts, and the more diverse its anime broadcast library, the more likely it will sustain increasingly high levels of anime viewership.
The Data Provides a Map of Netflix’s Continued Future Success
Netflix Should diversify Its Anime Library
While the information Netflix released about its viewership was indeed eye-opening, it also provided concrete intelligence on what Netflix should do to stay ahead of the game. For instance, despite Netflix’s traditional reliance on binge-watching, the preferences of anime fans for watching weekly episodes suggest that – at least for anime series – Netflix should give in to popular demand.
Similarly, the popularity of shows like My Happy Marriage further suggests that the streaming giant should diversify its anime content library, as a way to increase the viewership. Ultimately, the data drops have proven to be a treasure of information about anime viewership outside of Japan. At the very least, it provides clear and convincing evidence that the anime phenomenon is real – at least for Netflix.
