Japan’s premium video-on-demand sector will reach $7.2 billion in total revenue in 2025, up 15% year-on-year, according to a new report from Media Partners Asia. This growth reflects increased investment in domestic programming and live sports rights, as well as the platform’s increased reliance on diverse revenue models, including ad-supported subscription options.
Three services control half of the market’s total revenue. Netflix remains the category’s top earner with 22%, while Prime Video leads in subscribers with 19.3 million users and benefits from cross-promotions across its extensive retail and e-commerce operations. Local service U-Next generates 12% of its revenue through an integrated content package that combines streaming video with cartoons, music and exclusive sports programming, creating a competitive advantage over international rivals.
Subscription video platforms gained a total of 4 million subscribers in 2025, bringing the total to 67.9 million when YouTube Premium is included. Netflix was the biggest driver of profits, thanks to the renewal of its partnership with telecommunications giant KDDI in November 2025 and the strong performance of Japanese original titles. Sports streamer DAZN also made a meaningful contribution with its bundled inclusion in carrier NTT Docomo’s ahamo Max mobile service, and the combined Disney+/Hulu Japan package expanded its reach.
Total viewing time across premium VOD reached 8.1 billion hours in 2025. Although broadcaster-backed free streaming service TVer had the highest share of total viewing time at 23%, Netflix outperformed in engagement per subscriber, with users spending an average of nearly 20 hours a month on the service.
Local productions continue to capture viewer attention, accounting for 80% of all streaming time. Animation proved particularly strong, with “Spy x Family” ranking as the most-watched title in the fourth quarter of 2025. Japanese live-action series and variety formats dominated TVers’ AVOD programming, while Netflix distributed “The Last Samurai Standing” and Amazon offered “The Golden Duo” and “Love Transit” as notable originals. U.S. content still reaches a large audience, with 28% of users watching U.S. series and movies like “Wicked,” “The Minecraft Movie” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
Major platforms are now prioritizing live event programming. Netflix plans to enter the sports streaming space by securing exclusive rights to the 2026 World Baseball Classic, TVer will broadcast select competitions from the 2026 Winter Olympics, and U-Next is expanding its sports portfolio with upcoming coverage of the Women’s Golf Major and English Premier League Soccer through 2028.
“Japan’s premium VOD market has reached a key maturity point,” said Dhivya T, Principal Analyst and Head of Insights at MPA. “Growth is no longer just about net additions, but sophisticated monetization through ad tier revenue, carrier bundling and vertically integrated ecosystems. The entry of major players like Netflix into live sports, and the continued dominance of local anime and drama, suggests that the next phase of competition will be about event-driven engagement and premium local storytelling.”
This data comes from MPA’s Japan Online Video Consumer Insights and Analytics report, created using AMPD, the company’s measurement platform that tracks viewing behavior across mobile devices and connected TVs.
