Asia Overtakes North America and Europe as World’s Largest Market for New Streaming Commissions

• More than one in three new scripted series ordered by the world’s leading global streaming platforms in the first half of 2026 came from Asia-Pacific, as Netflix and Prime Video accelerated investment across the region.

Asia-Pacific has overtaken North America and Western Europe to become the world’s largest market for new scripted streaming commissions for the first time.

The six leading global streaming services — Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ and Paramount+ — commissioned 70 first-run scripted titles in APAC during the first half of 2026, according to Ampere Analysis.

That represented 36% of all first-run scripted commissions by the six platforms, compared with 46 titles in North America and 44 in Western Europe. The remaining regions accounted for 34 titles.

The shift has been driven primarily by Netflix and Amazon. While their combined first-run orders across North America and Western Europe were broadly flat compared with the first half of 2025, commissioning activity in Asia-Pacific increased sharply.

APAC jumps from the 30s to 70 commissions

Asia-Pacific’s rise to the top of the commissioning market has not followed a steady upward trajectory.

Ampere’s half-year data since 2023 shows considerable volatility. APAC commissions rose strongly in the first half of 2024 before falling sharply in the second half. They recovered during 2025 but remained below North America and Western Europe through the end of the year.

That changed dramatically in the first half of 2026. From the mid-30s in the previous six months, first-run scripted orders in APAC jumped to 70, surpassing North America’s 46 and Western Europe’s 44.

The economics of production have been one factor behind the long-term shift towards Asia. Global platforms can generally secure local production capacity at lower costs than in North America and Western Europe while using local originals to attract subscribers in individual markets. Ampere has previously pointed to high production costs and slowing subscriber growth as factors behind the declining share of North American commissions.

Cost alone, however, does not explain the latest surge.

Production costs and wages have also been rising in established Asian production markets, including South Korea. More important is the expanding addressable market for Asian programming. Content originally commissioned to win subscribers in a single territory can increasingly travel across borders.

A Korean, Indian or Japanese series can now serve both a domestic audience and viewers in multiple international markets, improving the potential return on a single content investment.

Netflix and Amazon have capitalised on that dynamic. Prime Video expanded commissioning across multiple Indian languages, while Netflix increased its activity not only in South Korea but in markets including Taiwan.

India leads with 25 orders, South Korea 2nd

India was the biggest contributor to APAC’s commissioning boom, accounting for 25 new scripted orders in the first half of 2026.

Prime Video drove much of that increase by commissioning programming across multiple Indian languages, reflecting the increasingly localised nature of its content strategy in the country.

South Korea ranked second in APAC by volume, although Ampere has not disclosed the exact number of commissions. Netflix remains the most active global streaming commissioner in the Korean market.

India, South Korea and Japan are increasingly serving two purposes for global streaming platforms: they are important subscriber markets in their own right, but also production hubs capable of generating programming for international distribution.

Investment is also spreading beyond the region’s established production centres.

Taiwan recorded nine first-run scripted commissions during the first half of 2026, while the Philippines recorded seven. Netflix quadrupled its first-run orders in Taiwan compared with the same period in 2025, while Amazon accounted for five of the seven new commissions in the Philippines.

Crime and thrillers dominate as genre mix shifts

The types of programming being commissioned in Asia-Pacific are changing as well.

Crime and thriller titles accounted for roughly one-third of first-run scripted commissions in the region during the first half of 2026, making them the largest genre category.

Drama reached a record 25% share of orders. By contrast, sci-fi and fantasy — which had represented a significant portion of APAC commissioning in the first half of 2025 — declined sharply.

The genre mix reflects the increasingly dual purpose of local originals: they need to appeal to audiences in their home markets while also having the potential to travel internationally.

Ampere identifies both subscriber growth opportunities and the increasing international reach of Asian content as key reasons global streaming platforms are stepping up their focus on APAC.

From local subscriber acquisition to global distribution

Asia’s role in the global streaming economy is consequently changing.

For global platforms, the region is no longer only a collection of markets in which local programming is commissioned to attract local subscribers. It is increasingly a production base for content that can generate viewing across multiple territories.

Strategies vary by market. In established hubs such as South Korea, India and Japan, local originals can support subscriber acquisition and retention while also targeting international audiences. In Taiwan and the Philippines, rising commissioning volumes are expanding the pool of locally produced programming available to global platforms.

The way streaming services secure Asian content is also becoming more diverse. In addition to commissioning originals directly, platforms are expanding licensing and distribution partnerships with established Asian studios.

CJ ENM entered a strategic global partnership with Prime Video in 2025, making new and catalogue titles from CJ ENM, Studio Dragon and CJ ENM Studios available across more than 240 countries and territories, excluding South Korea and China. The distribution arrangement supports subtitles in up to 28 languages and dubbing in 11.

The partnership expanded further into India in July 2026, when CJ ENM struck a separate strategic content deal with Prime Video India. Around 100 CJ ENM titles, including 26 new releases, will be made available over two years, with new titles supported by English subtitles and dubbing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

India therefore illustrates how the streaming content flows within Asia are becoming increasingly multidirectional. Prime Video is investing in locally produced Indian programming while simultaneously using the market as a destination for Korean content.

Cyrine Amor, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis, noted that APAC combines strong subscriber growth prospects with an increasing ability to produce programming that performs outside its country of origin. Rising commissions in Taiwan and the Philippines, alongside established markets such as India, South Korea and Japan, suggest that global platforms are widening their search for Asian stories capable of working both regionally and internationally.

One half-year of data is not enough to conclude that the centre of global television production has permanently shifted to Asia. Commissioning volumes have fluctuated considerably from one half-year period to another since 2023.

But the first half of 2026 marks a significant change in the region’s position within the streaming economy. Asia is increasingly valuable not simply as a cost-efficient production base, but as a market where global platforms can acquire subscribers, create local hits and generate programming capable of travelling around the world.