The streaming industry is experiencing something of an international content boom, according to the latest report from Ampere Analysis, with more than half of consumers in English-speaking markets now claiming to watch non-English language content.
The research suggests that 54 percent of consumers in the UK, US, Australia and Canada watch non-English language content “very often” or “sometimes”, up from 43 percent at the start of 2020. In these markets, regular viewing of international films and TV shows has increased by 24 percent among 18-64 year olds, over the last four years.
The findings tally with a rise in international content available on the major streaming services. Earlier this month, Ampere reported that Netflix and Amazon had ordered the majority of their titles from outside the US during Q1 2024.
“We have seen an increase in the proportion of both commissions and licensed content in non-English languages and linked to that, a drop in the proportion of hours of content available accounted for by English TV shows and movies,” Annabel Yeomans, Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, tells VideoWeek. “This will be a significant driver for viewing of non-English content.”
Crossing borders
Expanding their non-English content slates has a number of benefits for US streaming companies. They might be looking to markets with cheaper production costs or greater tax incentives; producing content in markets where they are aiming to grow their subscriber base; or appealing to younger viewers who are more open to non-English content, particularly Korean and Japanese titles.
International content is particularly popular among 18-34 year olds, according to Ampere, with 66 percent of this age group regularly watching non-English titles. But the trend is not merely isolated to young people; the strongest growth in international content consumption is among 45-64 year olds, 41 percent of whom now regularly watch non-English programming, up from 30 percent in 2020.
This move aligns with the broader migration of viewers from broadcasters to streaming services, which offer more international content than their broadcast counterparts. Meanwhile streaming companies can provide subtitles and dubbing in multiple languages, with AI developments lowering the costs of localisation services. The report notes that consumers in English-speaking markets prefer subtitles (28 percent) over dubbing (19 percent).
“This mirrors an increase in viewing of subscription video services by consumers, particularly among older age groups, where we are seeing the fastest growth in viewing of this type of non-English content,” comments Ampere’s Annabel Yeomans. “This suggests that both access and availability are playing a significant role.”
Lowering costs
The findings also chime with Netflix’s own viewing figures for H2 2023, which revealed that non-English content made up nearly one-third of all viewing during the six-month period; the most-watched non-English content was Korean (9 percent), Spanish (7 percent) and Japanese (5 percent).
According to Ampere, regular viewing of South Korean content is up 35 percent over the last four years. Now, 22 percent of 18-64 year olds frequently watch Korean films and TV shows, up from 16 percent in 2020. The report cites the popularity of Squid Game as a major factor, prompting Netflix to up its spend on titles produced in South Korea.
“The increased viewing of international programming in English-speaking markets shows that as content producers diversify production regions, viewers are ready and willing to transform their viewing habits,” says Yeomans. “This offers multiple advantages for streamers facing economic pressures. They can investigate markets with lower production costs and focus on productions in newer streaming markets to grow subscriptions while catering to their existing subscriber base. Developments in AI technology for subtitling and dubbing make it easier than ever for platforms to offer TV shows and movies on a global scale.”
And as streaming firms look to prioritise financial stability over subscriber growth, lowering production costs in international markets could smooth the path to profitability, especially for those companies that are less constrained by national commitments or linear TV businesses. “In terms of whether streamers should look to produce in lower-cost markets, or where they can grow subscribers, we’re seeing a general trend of focusing on profitability, rather than new subscriber growth by streamers,” observes Yeomans. “In order to achieve this, lower production costs will be key, particularly given economic pressures.”