U-Next

U-Next (ユーネクスト, Yūnekusuto, often stylized as U-NEXT) is a Japanese subscription video streaming and e-book and rental service operated by U-Next Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Usen-Next Holdings.

U-Next
Type of site
OTT streaming platform
Available inJapanese
HeadquartersKamiōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo,
Japan
Area servedJapan
OwnerU-Next Co., Ltd.
Key people
ParentUsen-Next Holdings Co.,Ltd.
URLunext.jp
RegistrationRequired
UsersIncrease 2.8 million
Launched2007 (2007) (as GyaO Next)
Current statusOperating

U-Next is a wide variety of content including movies, TV shows, anime, e-books, and live sports. It was launched in 2007 as Gyao Next (often stylized as GyaO Next) and has since grown to become one of the largest streaming platforms in Japan, with over 2.8 million registered users. U-Next also offers unique features such as offline viewing, simultaneous streaming on multiple devices, and movie ticket purchase with points.

History

In June 2006, Usen began a project to investigate the possibility of watching Gyao, a video streaming service for PCs owned by the company, on television. Gyao, which was later operated by Yahoo! Japan and terminated its services in 2023, was one of the most influential platforms in Japan's online video distribution market at the time.

On February 1, 2007, Usen started selling Gyao Plus, a set-top box that allowed users to watch Gyao on their televisions. At the time, the set-top box had internet connectivity, but could only be used to watch Gyao.[1]

On June 1, 2007, Gyao Next, a pay-per-view video distribution service using Gyao Plus, was launched. Unlike Gyao, which was available for free, Gyao Next cost 3,900 yen to 4,950 yen per month in addition to the initial cost and the set-top box fee (rental or purchase).[2][3] Gyao refreshes its catalog every 10 days to 2 weeks, while Gyao Next is an archive. As a result, there was little overlap between the two services in terms of user base." [4]

In June 2008, the price was reduced from ¥3,900/month to ¥2,980/month with the same content plus additional content such as all professional baseball games of the Pacific League and a number of karaoke songs.[5]

On April 7, 2009, Yahoo! Japan announced that it would acquire 51% of the shares of Gyao, which had been a wholly owned subsidiary of Usen, from Usen for 529 million yen, making it a subsidiary. The acquisition was aimed at building the largest video platform in Japan by integrating it with Yahoo! Video, which is owned by Yahoo! Japan. Gyao Next, however, was not part of the deal.[6][7]

On December 1, 2009, Gyao Next was renamed U-Next. The "U" includes the meanings of "United" and "Universe" as well as Usen. This business was transferred from Usen to its subsidiary U-Next Co., Ltd. in December 2010. U-Next Co., Ltd. was spun off from Usen as a private company of Yasuhide Uno, who was the president of Usen.[8][9]

In April 2009, the service began offering music broadcasting (Usen on Flet's) from Usen, a cable broadcasting service. And in September 2009, the number of subscribers exceeded 100,000. As of November 2009, the service included approximately 25,000 videos (including 12,000 PPV videos), 15,000 karaoke videos, 9 channels, and 504 Usen music broadcast channels.[8] As of July 2010, more than 50,000 titles had been distributed, including terrestrial broadcast dramas and missed anime broadcasts.[10]U-Next was available by July 2010 on select models of Sony's Bravia, Sharp's Aquos, Toshiba's Regza, Hitachi's Wooo, Panasonic's Viera, and LG's Smart TV.[10][11]

In November 2013, the company announced a content partnership with 20th Century Fox to distribute more than 150 films.[12]

In 2014, the service supported streaming by the iPhone, iPad, Android phones/tablets, AirPlay, and Chromecast. The following year, Dolby Audio (Dolby Digital Plus) was adopted to deliver 7.1 channels.[13]

The e-book service was launched in April 2014 with the BookPlace for U-Next app and integrated with the video service in 2019. Also in the same year, U-Next partnered with theater chain T-Joy to allow movie tickets to be purchased by U-Next points; in 2016, it formed similar partnerships with Shochiku Multiplex Theaters and United Cinemas; and in 2017, with Tokyu Recreation. In 2022, they also partnered with Toho Cinemas, the only remaining major theater chain.[14]

On December 16, 2014, U-Next was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers.[15] In 2015, the company changed its listing to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[16]

In February 2017, U-Next announced that it would conduct a tender offer for shares of Usen and integrate its operations. The company shifted to a holding company structure, with each business of U-Next and Usen placed as subsidiaries under the umbrella of the holding company Usen-Next Holdings.[17][18]

In July 2020, U-Next acquired the anime-focused video streaming service Anime Hōdai through absorption-type split from SoftBank for 2.5 billion yen. Meanwhile, U-Next had been operating Anime Hōdai since 2015 before the acquisition.[19]

In 2020, it was announced that the service had surpassed 2 million members as of August.[20]

In March 2021, U-Next announced a partnership with WarnerMedia to exclusively distribute 199 HBO and HBO Max original productions in Japan by 2023.[21][22] The company also announced plans to further strengthen its partnership agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery by distributing 332 of those productions in 2023.[22][23]

In February 2022, U-Next announced plans to merge with Premium Platform Japan, which is owned by TBS Television and TV Tokyo, with the merger scheduled to take place on March 31. Paravi, the video streaming service operated by PPJ, is expected to be integrated into U-Next in July.[24][25] This merger is expected to create the largest domestic streaming service in Japan, surpassing Hulu Japan, with over 800 billion yen in revenue, 3.7 million paid subscribers, and 350,000 titles. It will be the second-largest video streaming service in the Japanese market, following Netflix.[26][27]

References
  1. "西田宗千佳のRandomTracking". av.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  2. "｢敗者のGYAO!と勝者のU-NEXT｣明暗分けた拠所". ライブドアニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  3. "USEN、有料動画配信サービス「GyaoNEXT」を6月開始". av.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  4. 日経クロステック（xTECH）. "【インタビュー】ギャオネクストの2カ月で1万人達成は十分すぎる結果". 日経クロステック（xTECH） (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  5. "USEN、VODサービス「GyaO NEXT」の月額料金を値下げ". av.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  6. "Yahoo！動画とGyaO統合、「権利者を尊重する」No.1動画配信プラットフォームに". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  7. "ヤフーがGyaOを子会社化 Yahoo！動画と統合へ". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  8. 株式会社インプレス (2009-11-16). "USEN、VODサービス「GyaO NEXT」を「U-NEXT」に名称変更". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  9. "宇野康秀・USENグループ会長／U-NEXT社長インタビュー今も追い続ける動画配信ビジネスの見果てぬ夢「"人間万事塞翁が馬"でVOD市場の雄を目指す」". ダイヤモンド・オンライン (in Japanese). 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  10. 株式会社インプレス (2012-07-09). "パナソニックVIERAで、動画配信「U-NEXT」が利用可能に". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  11. 株式会社インプレス (2010-01-20). "ソニー、40型フルHDで実売13万円の「BRAVIA EX500」". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  12. "U-NEXTと20世紀FOXがコンテンツ・パートナーシップ、新作映画＆海外ドラマの配信をスタート". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  13. 株式会社インプレス (2015-09-25). "U-NEXTがドルビーデジタルプラス対応。7.1ch配信も可能に". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  14. "U-NEXTポイントを使って、TOHOシネマズの映画チケット購入が可能に！「U-NEXT×TOHOシネマズ」のコラボキャンペーンもスタート | U-NEXT コーポレート". U-NEXT corporate (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  15. "新規上場企業・詳細データ :企業業績・財務 :マーケット :日経電子版". www.nikkei.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  16. "東京証券取引所 市場第一部への上場市場変更承認に関するお知らせ". www.atpress.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  17. 株式会社インプレス (2017-02-13). "U-NEXTが、USENを吸収合併へ。映像/音楽配信と通信事業を強化". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  18. "USENとU-NEXTが経営統合--宇野社長が狙う「強みの共有」とは". CNET Japan (in Japanese). 2017-02-18. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  19. "ソフトバンク「アニメ放題」、U-NEXTへ10月1日付で移管". マイナビニュース (in Japanese). 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  20. 株式会社インプレス (2021-05-07). "日本勢でトップ、U-NEXT「200万加入の先」にある戦略。堤社長インタビュー【西田宗千佳のRandomTracking】". AV Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  21. "U-NEXTが米ワーナーメディアと独占パートナーシップ契約をSVODで締結。". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  22. "U-NEXT×米ワーナーがさらに強化 HBO新作見放題独占配信追加". cinemacafe.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  23. Frater, Patrick (2023-03-07). "HBO Supply Deal With Japanese Streamer U-Next Renewed by Warner Bros. Discovery". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  24. "Japan's top streaming services to merge to take on Netflix, Amazon". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  25. Frater, Patrick (2023-02-22). "Japanese Streaming Firms U-Next and Paravi to Merge". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  26. "株式会社U-NEXTとの経営統合について | Paraviヘルプセンター". help.paravi.jp. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  27. Press, Jiji (2023-02-18). "Japan's U-Next to Absorb Streaming Service Peer Paravi". japannews.yomiuri.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
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