Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV (NTV) has licensed 30 drama and entertainment titles to Netflix for streaming across Asia, excluding Japan, marking the first time it has signed a deal with the global streamer.
The first raft of titles covered by the deal include 2011 hit drama series I’m Mita, Your Housekeeper, the last episode of which broke records with a 40% viewer rating in Japan and has also been successful as a scripted format and licensed to Korea; Death Note, a live-action drama based on the popular manga; and Tokyo Tarareba Girls, which is also remade from the hit comic series that saw over 1.8 million copies printed throughout Japan.
From December, another 15 titles will be added, including 2019 award-winning drama series Mr. Hiiragi’s Homeroom, Your Turn To Kill and Life’s Punchline, which was broadcast this year with almost 14 million total views to date on Japanese streaming service TVer.
Entertainment shows covered by the deal include adventure variety show The Quest, and contest show Masquerade, which is one of Nippon TV’s longest-running programmes with a more than 40 years history.
Keisuke Miyata, head of finished programme sales, International Business Development, Nippon TV, said: “We are very pleased to announce that Netflix will be offering our content to its audience across Asia. This region is a key part of our continued growth, and now coupled with Netflix’s strength as one of the world’s leading streaming platforms, we are confident that Nippon TV’s titles will be well received by viewers in this prominent new territory for us.”
NTV also has a successful drama format licensing business with shows such as Mother, Woman: My Life For My Children and Abandoned, which have been adapted into local-language versions across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.