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I wonder whether Netflix and similar distribution platforms will result in more/faster crosscultural hits? They’ve got a far, far easier time than most content producers in getting content from Market A to Market B and built-in distribution, and they can translate down the tail.
The 40th most successful show on US broadcast television this year might not make it to Japan in next 10 years; the 40th most successful Netflix property costs like an engineer-month to port to Japan and so will probably arrive this year.
(Probably very little engineering time at the margin; I’m using engineer-month as a software company equivalent of “Basically the lowest number we can reason about.”)
In the status quo, to get property X from Market A to Market B you first need discovery, then bizdev time, then a (complicated and bespoke) rights negotiation, then localization, and all the rigamarole here means that B only sees the top of A’s distribution.
(This factor is one reason why Americans love anime and why Japanese people love American TV dramas; the high cost and gatekeepers keep each audience from seeing anything below the the top 5% of each others’ output.)
