Asia has become the world’s biggest region for first-run streaming scripted series orders for the first time, according to research by Ampere Analysis.
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, ahead of North America and Western Europe.
The figures are based on 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.
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, fuelled 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.
Taiwan and the Philippines also 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.
Ampere noted that 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.
Cyrine Amor, Senior Research Manager at Ampere Analysis, said: “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.”
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