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JETRO Releases Report on Anime Content in U.K., France

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) released its report on the Japanese content market in the United Kingdom and France in March. The report noted that anime-related content forms the majority of the Japanese screen content present in the market for both countries.

The report highlighted the demographic differences in animation consumers and marketing between the U.K. and France. Animation is seen as more of a niche product in the U.K., and there is more focus on the children's demographics. For anime, the dominant shows are still Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, Beyblade, and other kids-oriented programming. However, subscribers to streaming services in the U.K. are more inclined toward mature anime, despite such anime having difficulty breaking into the mainstream.

In contrast, 40% of people over the age of 18 in France are consumers of animation. The country ranks fourth in the number of contracts with Japanese anime production companies, behind the United States, South Korea, and Taiwan. Television channels that broadcast non-Japanese animation are largely aimed at children, while anime is seen as targeting teenagers and older.

The importance of television in the U.K. market remains unchanged, but streaming is growing. Content aimed at streaming audiences is also growing in France.

Both markets have a small home video market in comparison to the number of users of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Sources: JETRO, Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)