LONDON—New data from Ampere Analysis shows Asia has become the world’s biggest region for first-run streaming scripted series orders for the first time, leaping two places from third to secure the top spot in the first half of 2026. More than one-third (36%) of first-run scripted TV orders from the leading global streamers now originate in APAC, the highest six-month share on record.
The new Ampere study also found that the APAC region surged ahead of North America and Western Europe in H1 2026 for the volume of new scripted TV commissions from the six leading global streamers - Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix and Paramount+. The region secured 70 first-run scripted commissions during the period, versus 46 for North America, 44 for Western Europe, and 34 for all other regions combined.
Cyrine Amor, senior research manager at Ampere Analysis, explained that “APAC has become increasingly important to global streamers for two reasons: it offers attractive opportunities for subscriber growth, while Asian content is increasingly finding audiences far beyond its home markets. India, South Korea and Japan remain at the heart of commissioning activity, but growth in markets such as Taiwan and the Philippines shows how widely streamers are now looking for locally produced content with regional and global potential.”
Of all streamers’ first-run scripted TV orders, 36% now originate from the APAC region, the highest six-month-period share to date. The rise is primarily driven by Amazon’s and Netflix’s commissioning activity in the region. In the same period, their combined first-run orders in Western Europe and North America remained almost flat compared to H1 2025.
India led the region with 25 orders, the highest increase among APAC markets, fueled by Prime Video’s commissioning push across multiple Indian languages. South Korea remained the region’s second-largest market by volume, where Netflix continues to lead commissioning activity among global streamers.
In terms of genre, one-third of these commissions were Crime & Thriller. Drama hit a new record of one quarter of commissions. Meanwhile, the Sci-Fi & Fantasy genre, which led by volume share in H1 2025, fell sharply.
Newer entrants to the streamers' regional subscriber acquisition race also stood out in this commissioning shift, the Ampere study stressed.
Taiwan and the Philippines experienced unusually high volumes of streamer orders, with nine and seven new scripted series commissioned respectively during the first half of 2026. In Taiwan, Netflix quadrupled its new scripted series orders compared to last year, including the medical drama “How to Survive Med School” and the influencer-led crime investigation “Million-follower Detective.” In the Philippines, Amazon led the charge with five new series announcements over the past six months, including the romance drama “The Loyalty Game.”
Recent successes such as Netflix’s Thai original “My Dearest Assassin” and Korean original “The Great Flood” demonstrate the potential for locally produced APAC content to travel beyond its home market. Streamers are also using licensing to capitalise on this demand, with Prime Video further expanding an existing multi-year worldwide distribution deal with CJ ENM in 2026, Ampere reported.
The commissioning surge reflects different stages of streaming growth across APAC. In more established markets, including India, South Korea and Japan, new productions are being used to both attract and retain subscribers while also targeting increasingly receptive regional and global audiences. In emerging streaming markets such as Taiwan and the Philippines, first-run commissioning is being used to support subscriber acquisition.
