TIFFCOM: Japanese Content Gets International Boost in COVID, Streaming Era1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteJapanese film and TV content, in particular anime, has been reaching new international audiences during the era of Covid-19 lockdowns and growing steaming consumption, according to several speakers at this week’s TIFFCOM Online (4 – 6 November).
On the first day of the market, Crunchyroll general manager Joanne Waage said the WarnerMedia-owned anime streaming service has already achieved its projected year-end figures of 3 million subscribers and 70 million registered users.
“During Covid times, the streaming business has been resilient as people have been home more, looking for entertainment and escapism, and exploring new things. One of those things has been anime and we’ve seen significant growth across the board from AVOD to new subscribers,” Waage said.
She added that awareness of anime outside Asia had already been growing before the pandemic, but is now going mainstream, especially among the Gen Z and Millennial audience, who have been introduced to adult drama animation through video games: “It doesn’t feel unfamiliar to this new generation.”
Waage also explained how being part of the WarnerMedia stable is helping widen the audience for anime as Crunchyroll is now co-producing with Cartoon Network and working on a curated collection of anime content for HBO Max.
Image credit: TIFFCOM
