U-Next

U-Next
Type of site
OTT streaming platform
Available inJapanese
HeadquartersKamiōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo,
Japan
Area servedJapan
Owner
Key people
Divisions
  • U-Next Publishing
  • Anime Hōdai
  • H-Next
URLvideo.unext.jp Edit this at Wikidata
RegistrationRequired
UsersIncrease 4.3 million
Launched2007; 17 years ago (2007) (as Gyao Next)
Current statusOperating

U-Next (ユーネクスト, Yū-Nekusuto, often stylized as U-NEXT) is a Japanese over-the-top streaming service. It is majority-owned by U-Next Holdings and minority-owned by TBS Holdings and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. It was launched in 2007 as GyaO Next and has since grown to become one of the largest streaming platforms in Japan, with 4.3 million registered subscribers as of May 2024. The service includes not only videos but also e-book services. U-Next was the second highest-grossing subscription video service in Japan as of 2022.[1]

History

Launched as GyaO Next

In June 2006, Usen began a project to investigate the possibility of watching GyaO, an advertising-supported video on demand (AVOD) service for PCs owned by the company, on television. GyaO, which was later operated by Yahoo! Japan and terminated its services in 2023, was one of the most influential platforms in Japan's online video distribution market at the time.

On February 1, 2007, Usen started selling GyaO Plus, a set-top box that allowed users to watch GyaO on their televisions. At the time, the set-top box had internet connectivity, but could only be used to watch GyaO.[2]

The logo of GyaO Next

On June 1, 2007, GyaO Next, a pay-per-view video distribution service using GyaO Plus, was launched. Unlike GyaO, which was available for free, GyaO Next cost 3,900 yen to 4,950 yen per month in addition to the initial cost and the set-top box fee (rental or purchase).[3][4] GyaO refreshes its catalog every 10 days to 2 weeks, while GyaO Next is an archive. As a result, there was little overlap between the two services in terms of user base."[5]

In June 2008, the price was reduced from ¥3,900/month to ¥2,980/month with the same content plus additional content such as all professional baseball games of the Pacific League and a number of karaoke songs.[6]

On April 7, 2009, Yahoo! Japan announced that it would acquire 51% of the shares of GyaO, which had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Usen, from Usen for 529 million yen, making it a subsidiary. The acquisition was aimed at building the largest video platform in Japan by integrating it with Yahoo! Video, which is owned by Yahoo! Japan. GyaO Next, however, was not part of the deal.[7][8]

Renamed as U-Next

The logo of U-Next from 2009 to 2017

On December 1, 2009, GyaO Next was renamed U-Next. The "U" includes the meanings of "United" and "Universe" as well as Usen. This business was transferred from Usen to its subsidiary U-Next Co., Ltd. in December 2010. U-Next Co., Ltd. was spun off from Usen as a private company of Yasuhide Uno, who was the president of Usen.[9][10]

In April 2009, the service began offering music broadcasting (Usen on Flet's) from Usen, a cable broadcasting service. And in September 2009, the number of subscribers exceeded 100,000. As of November 2009, the service included approximately 25,000 videos (including 12,000 PPV videos), 15,000 karaoke videos, 9 channels, and 504 Usen music broadcast channels.[9] As of July 2010, more than 50,000 titles had been distributed, including terrestrial broadcast dramas and missed anime broadcasts.[11] U-Next was available by July 2010 on select models of Sony's Bravia, Sharp's Aquos, Toshiba's Regza, Hitachi's Wooo, Panasonic's Viera, and LG's Smart TV.[11][12]

In November 2013, the company announced a content partnership with 20th Century Fox to distribute more than 150 films.[13]

In 2014, the service supported streaming by the iPhone, iPad, Android phones/tablets, AirPlay, and Chromecast. The following year, Dolby Audio (Dolby Digital Plus) was adopted to deliver 7.1 channels.[14]

The e-book service was launched in April 2014 with the BookPlace for U-Next app and integrated with the video service in 2019. Also in the same year, U-Next partnered with theater chain T-Joy to allow movie tickets to be purchased by U-Next points; in 2016, it formed similar partnerships with Shochiku Multiplex Theaters and United Cinemas; and in 2017, with Tokyu Recreation. In 2022, they also partnered with Toho Cinemas, the only remaining major theater chain.[15]

On December 16, 2014, U-Next was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers.[16] In 2015, the company changed its listing to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[17]

In February 2017, U-Next announced that it would conduct a tender offer for shares of Usen and integrate its operations. The company shifted to a holding company structure, with each business of U-Next and Usen placed as subsidiaries under the umbrella of the holding company Usen-Next Holdings.[18][19]

In July 2020, U-Next acquired the anime-focused video streaming service Anime Hōdai through absorption-type split from SoftBank for 2.5 billion yen. Meanwhile, U-Next had been operating Anime Hōdai since 2015 before the acquisition.[20]

In 2020, it was announced that the service had surpassed 2 million members as of August.[21]

In March 2021, U-Next announced a partnership with WarnerMedia to exclusively distribute 199 HBO and HBO Max original productions in Japan by 2023.[22][23] The company also announced plans to further strengthen its partnership agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery by distributing 332 of those productions in 2023.[23][24]

According to a survey by Gem Partners, the market share of Japan's subscription-based video streaming services based on revenue in 2022 shows that U-Next, which ranked third the previous year, has overtaken Amazon Prime Video with a share of 12.6%, making it the second-largest player behind Netflix, which holds a 22.3% market share.[25]

Merger with Paravi

On February 17, 2023, U-Next announced its merger with Premium Platform Japan, which operates the subscription video streaming service Paravi with 0.85 million subscribers and is owned by TBS Television and TV Tokyo. The merger will take effect on March 31, with U-Next being the surviving company. On the same day, U-Next also announced business partnerships with TBS Holdings, TBS Television, and TV Tokyo to establish collaborative content procurement and mass-market promotion. Additionally, U-Next entered into business partnerships with Dentsu and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners to utilize the video distribution platform for advertising and other related businesses.[26] On March 31, the merger was completed, and the following day, TBS Holdings and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, acquired U-Next's shares.[26]

On March 3, Yasuharu Uno, the President of Usen-Next Holdings, expressed his desire to increase U-Next's subscribers to 10 million and stated that he wants to "surpass Netflix." He mentioned that he hopes to reach this goal "in 5 to 10 years." He also stated, "Strong companies are those that compete globally. We want to cooperate with other domestic players," indicating that the company will explore possibilities for collaboration with other companies in the future.[27]

On June 29, U-Next announced that it had conducted a third-party allotment of shares to TBS Holdings, raising approximately 24.3 billion yen in funding. This resulted in TBS Holdings' ownership stake increasing from 2.25% to 20%, and U-Next became an equity method affiliate company of TBS Holdings.[28]

On June 30, the integration of Paravi into U-Next was completed. As a result, approximately 10,000 drama series and variety programs owned by Paravi, including those from TBS and TV Tokyo, became available for viewing on U-Next.[29][30][26] As a result, with the combined figures, the total revenue exceeded 800 billion yen, there were 3.7 million paid subscribers, and a library of 350,000 titles. This positioned the merged service as the second-largest video streaming service in the Japanese market, following Netflix, in terms of total revenue, paid subscribers, and title count.[31][32]

Expansion of sports content

Starting from April 2023, U-Next has signed a multi-year domestic distribution partnership agreement with Ultimate Fighting Championship. They have announced that they will live stream all UFC events, including UFC Number Series, UFC Fight Night, and Road to UFC.[33]

On June 21, 2023, U-Next announced a fundamental partnership agreement with Spanish La Liga until the 2027-28 season. Starting from the 2023-24 season, U-Next is exclusively livestream all matches of La Liga, as well as the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España, within Japan.[34][35]

On July 23, 2024, U-Next announced a fundamental partnership agreement with the English Premier League until the 2030-31 season. Starting from the 2024-25 season, U-Next is exclusively livestream all matches of the league, as well as the FA Cup, within Japan. On August 9, they launched the U-Next Soccer Pack, which costs an additional ¥2,600 per month and allows viewers to watch all Premier League and La Liga matches. They also made it possible to subscribe to the Soccer Pack independently.[36]

In September 2024, U-Next announced a partnership agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to offer the streaming service Max within U-Next. All HBO and Max original movies and series are exclusively distributed in Japan. Additionally, it was decided that Japanese programing will be distributed worldwide through Max.[37]

Contents

Programming

The distributors who license content to U-Next include Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global, TBS Television, and TV Tokyo, among others.

In addition, NHK On Demand and Globoplay channel services are available for separate purchase through the U-Next platform.

Books

Manga and magazines from publishers such as Shogakukan, Kodansha, Shueisha, Kadokawa, Shufu no Tomo, Takarajimasha, and Shinchosha are available for streaming. Over 10,000 manga titles and more than 180 magazine titles are available for free.[38] In addition, popular manga magazines like Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump, and Weekly Shōnen Champion can be purchased separately for reading.

In November 2022, U-next launched an original comic label called "U-next Comic". The label is further divided into three sub-labels.[39]

Sports

U-Next is streaming all UFC events, Glory kickboxing, Bellator MMA, and PGA Tour events.

U-Next has exclusive live streaming rights for 33 PGA Tour events during the 2022-2023 season.[40]

From March 2023 to June the following year, subscribers could watch the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, Serie A, and Major League Baseball.[36]

From June 30, 2023, U-Next began live streaming all Yokohama DeNA BayStars home games in the Central League, the interleague play, and the Japan Series.[41]

From August 2024, subscribers can watch all matches of the Premier League and La Liga with an additional fee through the U-Next Soccer Pack. This pack is also available for standalone subscription.[36]

Pornography videos

Contractors aged 18 and over could use the H-Next service, which includes pornographic video content viewable on video.hnext.jp, only through the web within a monthly subscription service, not through smartphone apps or other devices. As of June 21, 2024, this service was separated from the monthly subscription service, and distribution to Visa and Mastercard brand credit card users was halted. This is believed to be due to pressure from credit card companies.[42]

Paravi

Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Nikkei, TV Tokyo Holdings, Wowow, Dentsu, and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners jointly established Premium Platform Japan in July 2017. On December 25, 2017, PPJ announced that the service, which would start in April of the following year, would be called Paravi, a coined word combining "Para," meaning "close" in Greek, and "Vision."On March 7, 2018, PPJ announced that Paravi would be launched on April 1, and began accepting advance registrations on March 20.[43]

Paravi logo from 2018

On April 1, Paravi was launched, offering approximately 8,000 contents, including programs from TBS Television and TV Tokyo, at a monthly fee of 999 yen.[44] President Yasuhiro Takatsuna said, "Our strengths are the largest domestic drama archive and live streaming. We will add 50 new titles every day and be able to offer more than 10,000 contents soon."[45]

On September 6, 2018, Wowow announced through Paravi that they would begin 24-hour internet streaming of their BS channels, "Wowow Prime," "Wowow Live," and "Wowow Cinema," starting December 1. To watch the programs, it was necessary to be an existing member of Wowow, and it was not possible to contract only for internet streaming.[46]

In 2018, Paravi produced its first original drama series called Tourist which consisted of three episodes. The first episode was aired on TBS on September 28. The second episode was broadcast on TV Tokyo on October 1, and the third episode was shown on Wowow (for free) on October 7.[47] After each episode was aired, an exclusive version, including unreleased scenes, was streamed on Paravi.[48][49]

On February 18, 2019, a Paravi Wowow Plan was offered through Paravi, which allowed internet only subscription to Wowow and simultaneous viewing of Wowow's three channels. The monthly fee was the same as Wowow's regular membership fee, which was 2,300 yen, and it was not necessary to subscribe to Paravi to use the plan. However, due to the launch of Wowow's own video-on-demand service, Wowow On Demand, on January 13, 2021, the Paravi Wowow Plan was discontinued.[50]

On March 12, 2020, Paravi started offering free streaming of dramas and anime as a response to school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The free streaming continued until March 31 of the same year.[51]

Since 2020, Paravi has started live streaming all games of the Nippon Professional Baseball matches hosted by Yokohama DeNA BayStars,[52] and continues to stream them as of 2023.

On February 17, 2023, PPJ announced that it would merge with U-Next on March 31.[26] Paravi was scheduled to transfer its service to U-Next by July and its content can be viewed on U-Next's monthly plan thereafter.[53]

Points

At U-Next, there are points that can be used for various services, with 1 point equaling 1 yen. Paid members are able to receive 1,200 points on the first day of every month.

The points can be used to purchase various services, including videos and e-books that are available for a fee, as well as NHK On Demand and SPOTV Now channel services. In addition, it is possible to purchase movie tickets from major theater chains in Japan using the points.

References

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