After Netflix’s wild success with South Korea’s “Squid Game,” other streaming services are sharing their ambitions for the Asia-Pacific region. In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s Asia-Pacific president, Luke Kang, shares the company’s plans to expand its international offerings.
“Obviously, because of the global success of Korean content, we’re seeing it in a very pronounced way here. South Korea is the leading end of the spectrum,” Kang said. “So what we’re doing is really leveraging the depth of our relationships in the market…We’ve been laying the groundwork for this in South Korea for a couple of years now — in a very step-by-step, methodical way. And we feel that we have secured a lot of the top titles, talent and production partners.”
On October 13, the company announced 50 Asian originals coming to the platform by 2023, spanning from TV series and features in a variety of genres. This new content is most likely going to push Disney Asia to the forefront and hopefully gain more traction with APAC subscribers.
Kang provides an answer to the current competition issue and his prediction for what’s to come in terms of supply and demand. “I’m also optimistic that as the market and the consumers demand better and better content, and more and more local content, these challenges that we’re facing in terms of competition — and it’s certainly a seller’s market right now — I would say the situation eventually will resolve itself in the long run. More resources will come into the market, and supply and demand will balance out, as it always does.”
Disney+ is available in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, New Zealand, and Australia. The streaming service has plans to launch in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan around Disney+ Day (November 12).
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”