Can Netflix Become Must-See TV in Japan?

The successful expansion by Netflix into Australia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America over the last five years has increased investor confidence in the streaming service’s plan to build the first worldwide, online television network. Its steady growth—users topped 65 million globally in June—has fueled a $22.4 billion increase in Netflix’s market value since the end of 2014.

For all its success, Netflix has been a Western phenomenon. About 65 percent of its subscribers are in the U.S., while an additional 19 percent will hail from Brazil, Canada, and the U.K. by yearend, estimates Nomura Securities. By the end of 2016, Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings wants to reach the rest of the globe, a sprint through more than 150 countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. That push begins with Netflix’s Sept. 2 entry into Japan, home to more broadband households than any of its current markets outside the U.S.