Netflix, the leading video streaming service around the world, might have a tough time making a place for itself in Japan, suggests the results of a new measurement system used for gauging global demand for content. Netflix is now live in Japan starting today, marking its first Asia-region launch.
Netflix’s popular shows not so popular in Japan
Netflix’s highly successful original shows Orange is the New Black and House of Cards are not as popular in Japan as in some of the other regions the U.S. firm plans to enter, according to the data provided by Parrot Analytics exclusively to Variety. Next the company plans to enter Spain, Portugal and Italy in October, and Parrot analyzed the demand ratings in all these countries and concluded that Japan finished either last or close to last in terms as desire for the company’s original content.
Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black demonstrated maximum demand in the markets tracked by Parrot between Aug. 3 and Aug. 16. The show drew a rating of 73.11 in Spain but just 56.05 in Japan. Japan also trailed the other three countries in demand for Netflix’s other shows, including House of Cards, Bojack Horseman, Marco Polo, and Hemlock Grove. There was a tie between Italy and Japan for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but for Sense 8, Japan managed to top Italy.
Parrot’s “demand rating”
Parrot Analytics, which is based in Los Angeles, gauges how new programming has been received by any market around the world. For this, it monitors an unprecedented range of digital indicators in advance of each show’s launch. For a cumulative “demand rating,” Parrot tracks the popularity of a program in a specific region by monitoring social media, piracy and other websites where users share their views on a range of topics.
Parrot’s findings are primarily intended for programming buyers and sellers to help them make sound decisions on valuing programming in markets they are planning to enter. So Parrot’s ratings can in no way be used to conclude that Netflix is doomed in Japan. The primary lure for the service in the region does not necessarily have to be original content. If there is any reluctance in embracing American shows, then the Japanese-language originals Netflix will be rolling out, as signaled by it, could compensate for that.
