With Asia fast becoming a streaming battleground for international partnerships, it seems everyone is fighting for their share of a profitable market. Just this week, Paramount+ has announced it will be moving into the Japanese market as of December this year, in partnerships with existing streamers in the area. Brandon Blake, our entertainment lawyer Los Angeles from Blake & Wang PA, has the news.
Second Market Launch
Last year we saw Paramount+ enter into a similar deal for the South Korean market, working with TVing there, an offshoot of Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM. The new deal, for Japanese territories, will work with local operators Wowow and J:COM. J :COM is notable as one of the top broadband TV operators in the market, while Wowow is one of their longest-operating premium pay channels.
Paramount Global already has existing agreements with both parties. J:COM already licenses MTV and some movie offerings from their catalog, while Wowow has been active in buying Paramount titles for their home market. So their choice of partner makes sense.
New Catalog
This partnership will bring the Paramount+ library to the Japanese market, including popular IPs like CSI and Star Trek as well as their expansive film archives, including Mission Impossible, Transformers, and even SpongeBob.
Additionally, this will bring Japanese-centric productions to the wider Paramount+ global audience, continuing the trend we’ve seen for locally-produced but internationally appealing content this year. No doubt, international streamers are hoping to find the next Squid Game among new content, as well as cater to the more diverse international markets where they are now operating.
As we see the domestic market dry up for new streaming subscriptions, as well as this widening interest in globally diverse productions across all markets, this is a trend we expect to see accelerate over the next few years.
