Japan’s AV Industry in Flux: Linear TV decline, streaming alliances, and international collaborations

According to a private consultancy firm, the shift from linear FTA to OTT continues, and the PUT (persons using television) which used to be around 35% of the national households until 2020 has fallen by 20% and to below 30% since the second quarter of 2023.

TVer, a common catch-up AVOD platform collectively owned by conventional broadcasters, has seen its download count going up to over 63 million in July (up from 50 million one year before), with over 345 million views registered in April. A show’s performance is now measured not only based on its premiere viewership on the linear service but also the catch-up and other viewing on OTT platforms.

In a country in which a large number of local and international SVOD players compete, M&A slowly progresses. The streaming venture Paravi, co-owned by TBS, TV TOKYO, and WOWOW (the largest premium pay TV service) was folded into U-Next in June, solidifying the latter’s presence as the largest indigenous SVOD platform. 

In the summer, U-Next also inherited the subscribers of Tsutaya’s SVOD service, as Tsutaya, the largest bookseller and disc rental chain operator, streamlined its business and ceased its rental operation at its flagship store in Shibuya (which overlooks the legendary crossing which is believed to receive over 75 million pedestrians a year), although its rental operation will continue through other outlets and mail.

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