Premium VOD revenues in Japan rose 15% to $7.2 billion in 2025, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA), with SVOD subscribers (including YouTube Premium) reaching 67.9 million.
Citing the gains as a “significant milestone,” MPA said the sector is being reshaped by expanded ad-supported tiers and strong demand for local content, live events, and sports. The company’s findings are presented in its Japan Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics report, which leverages insights from its AMPD measurement platform.
Netflix, Prime Video, and U-NEXT command a whopping 50% of all premium VOD revenues, with Netflix in the lead at 22%. Prime Video boasts the biggest subscriber base, at 19.3 million. The leading domestic player is U-NEXT, which took a 12% share of revenues.
The overall SVOD base added 4 million subscribers in 2025, with Netflix leading, thanks to its KDDI bundle renewal and strong local content releases. DAZN contributed via a zero-cost integration into NTT Docomo’s ahamo MAX plans. Bundling also delivered gains for Disney+ and Hulu Japan.
Overall streaming hours for premium VOD last year hit 8.1 billion. TVer (the AVOD platform backed by Japan’s leading broadcaster) commanded a 23% share of viewing time, just ahead of Prime Video’s 22% and Netflix’s 21% percent. Netflix topped the per-user engagement rankings at close to 20 hours per month, driven by local content, particularly anime. In AVOD, meanwhile, live-action dramas and variety drove engagement.
Overall, Japanese drama and anime reached 73% and 50% of users, respectively, with a combined 63% of hours streamed. U.S. content (series and movies) reached 28% of users and accounted for 6% of viewing hours. Korean content reached 22% of users and logged 8% of viewing time.
MPA sees platforms shifting toward “high-impact event viewing,” with Netflix soon live-streaming the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan; TVer delivering select events from the 2026 Winter Olympics; and U-NEXT strategically acquiring top-tier sports rights.
Dhivya T, lead analyst and head of insights at MPA, commented: “Japan’s premium VOD market has reached a critical maturation point. Growth is no longer just about net adds, but sophisticated monetization through ad-tier yields, telco bundling, and vertically integrated ecosystems. The entry of major players like Netflix into live sports and the continued dominance of local anime and drama suggest that the next phase of competition will hinge on event-driven engagement and premium local storytelling.”
