EMEA streaming ecosystem demonstrates sustained growth in the availability and consumption of Asian content, with over 33,000 Asian titles currently available across the region. This trend reflects robust global demand driven primarily by Bollywood, anime, and K-dramas.
Geographic trends and market maturity
According to a report from Fabric consultancy firm,India leads the supply of Asian content to EMEA, followed by Japan, China, and South Korea. The largest volumes of distributed Asian titles are found in the United Kingdom (+22,000 titles), Saudi Arabia (+13,000 titles), and Germany (+13,000 titles).
The trend is notable in Saudi Arabia, where 85% of households watch online content—five percentage points above the regional penetration average and up 16% year over year. This data suggests a direct link between increased content availability and high streaming adoption in emerging markets.
Platform strategies and pricing
The market is split between two major global platforms. Prime Video hosts the largest volume of Asian titles in EMEA, with more than 7,000, over three times the volume of Netflix (+2,000 titles). Prime Video’s catalog is diverse, led by India and Japan but with stronger representation from Hong Kong and China. Its original Japanese title, Dan Da Dan (2024), ranks among the top 10 most popular Asian titles worldwide.
Netflix, while having a smaller catalog, dominates in original Asian production, releasing more than 40 new titles in 2025 alone. Its catalog primarily focuses on India and Japan and features global hits such as Squid Game (2021) and When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025).
Both platforms are strategically positioned with competitive pricing. Netflix‘s average ad-free subscription is $6.22, and Prime Video‘s is $6.42, both slightly below the EMEA average of $7.44. This accessibility aims to maximize reach, with Netflix utilizing original content to drive engagement and Prime Video using its larger library to appeal to users seeking variety. However, pricing varies significantly, with countries like Switzerland and Denmark having high costs, while markets such as Nigeria and Egypt offer substantially lower prices.
Audience preferences and genre focus
The top genres for Asian content in EMEA are comedy (52%), action (47%), and crime (47%), followed by drama (42%). Anime and K-dramas maintain a moderate 11% penetration each, with highest preference noted in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey.
Audience demographics show distinct preferences: Women demonstrate a stronger preference for K-dramas (14% vs. 8% for men). Anime attracts a slightly male-skewed audience (12.3% vs. 10.6%), but animation overall is notably popular among women in Turkey (36%) and South Africa (45%). The continued commissioning of Asian originals on global platforms reinforces the focus on local content with global potential and subscriber engagement.
AB
