Over half of Netflix subscribers now watch anime

The once niche genre is now a battleground in the modern streaming wars.

7/9/25 8:41AM

Anime has officially gone mainstream on the world’s biggest streaming service. According to Netflix, over 50% of its global members now watch anime on the platform, with viewership tripling over the past five years and subscribers watching anime content over 1 billion times in 2024.

Last year, 33 anime titles made Netflix’s weekly list of global top 10 non-English shows, more than double the figure from 2021. That boom has helped Japanese content become the world’s second-most-watched non-English category on Netflix, just behind South Korean shows and movies.

Netflix’s new report on just how well the genre is doing comes as its rivals in the streaming space aggressively look to expand their own anime libraries. Still, as the home to huge hits like “Sakamoto Days,” Netflix remains the go-to for anime fans around the world.

Netflix anime fans chart — Sherwood News

Recent research from ad agency Dentsu shows that 48% of global anime viewers subscribe to Netflix for its anime content, compared to 32% for Disney+ and 29% for Prime Video. Netflix leads across all major regions, with its strongest presence in the US, where 63% of anime viewers turn to the platform — some way ahead of Hulu (46%) and Disney+ (46%).

That fan frenzy is reportedly translating to a boost for the streamer’s top line, too. Per estimates from Parrot Analytics, anime generated over $2 billion in global revenue for Netflix in 2023, accounting for 38% of all anime streaming revenue worldwide.

That perhaps explains why the company is doubling down on international content, where spending is up 7x in the past seven years, roughly matching what Netflix splashed out on North American TV and film in 2023.

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.