U-Next
Japanese streaming service
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U-Next (ユーネクスト, Yū-Nekusuto; often stylized as U-NEXT) is a Japanese over-the-top streaming platform. Originally launched in 2007 as GyaO Next, the service has grown into one of Japan's leading streaming platforms, reaching 5 million subscribers as of November 2025.[1] In addition to video streaming, the platform provides an e-book distribution service. As of 2024, U-Next holds a 17.9% market share of the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) sector in Japan, ranking second only to Netflix.[1]
 | |
Type of site | OTT platform |
|---|---|
| Available in | Japanese |
| Headquarters | Kamiōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan |
| Area served | Japan |
| Owner |
|
| Key people |
|
| Divisions |
|
| URL | video |
| Registration | Required |
| Users |  4.3 million |
| Launched | 2007 (as Gyao Next) |
| Current status | Operating |
The platform integrates Paravi—featuring TBS Television and TV Tokyo content—and the HBO Max library as bundled services. It also distributes content from NBCUniversal (including Peacock Originals) and Paramount (including Paramount+ Originals), with select titles streaming exclusively in Japan. Additionally, football matches from leagues such as La Liga and the Premier League are available via dedicated hubs.
History
Launched as GyaO Next
In June 2006, Usen began a project to investigate the possibility of watching GyaO, an advertising-supported video on demand (AVOD) 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.[2]
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).[3][4] GyaO refreshed its catalog every 10 days to two weeks, while GyaO Next functioned as an archive. As a result, there was little overlap between the two services in terms of their user base.[5]
In June 2008, the price was reduced from ¥3,900 to ¥2,980 per month, retaining the same catalog while adding content such as all professional baseball games of the Pacific League and a number of karaoke songs.[6]
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.[7][8]
Renamed as U-Next
On December 1, 2009, GyaO Next was renamed U-Next. The "U" in the name stands for "United", "Universe", and "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 by Yasuhide Uno, who was the president of Usen at the time.[9][10]
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.[9] As of July 2010, more than 50,000 titles had been distributed, including terrestrial broadcast dramas and missed anime broadcasts.[11] 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.[11][12]
In November 2013, the company announced a content partnership with 20th Century Fox to distribute more than 150 films.[13]
In 2014, the service supported streaming via iPhone, iPad, Android phones/tablets, AirPlay, and Chromecast. The following year, Dolby Audio (Dolby Digital Plus) was adopted to deliver 7.1 surround sound.[14]
The e-book service was launched in April 2014 with the BookPlace for U-Next app and integrated with the video service in 2019. In 2014, U-Next partnered with theater chain T-Joy to allow movie tickets to be purchased using U-Next points; similar partnerships were formed with Shochiku Multiplex Theaters and United Cinemas in 2016, and with Tokyu Recreation in 2017. In 2022, they partnered with Toho Cinemas, Japan's largest major theater chain.[15]
On December 16, 2014, U-Next was listed on the Mothers section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[16] In 2015, the company upgraded its listing to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[17]
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.[18][19]
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. U-Next had previously operated the service on SoftBank's behalf since 2015.[20]
In August 2020, the service surpassed 2 million members.[21]
In March 2021, U-Next announced a partnership with WarnerMedia to exclusively distribute 199 HBO and HBO Max original productions in Japan by 2023.[22][23] The company also announced plans to further strengthen its partnership agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery by distributing 332 of those productions in 2023.[23][24]
According to a survey by Gem Partners, the market share of Japan's subscription-based video streaming services based on revenue in 2022 shows that U-Next, which ranked third the previous year, has overtaken Amazon Prime Video with a share of 12.6%, making it the second-largest player behind Netflix, which holds a 22.3% market share.[25]
Merger with Paravi
On February 17, 2023, U-Next announced its merger with Premium Platform Japan, which operates the subscription video streaming service Paravi with 0.85 million subscribers and is owned by TBS Television and TV Tokyo. The merger took effect on March 31, with U-Next being the surviving company. On the same day, U-Next also announced business partnerships with TBS Holdings, TBS Television, and TV Tokyo to establish collaborative content procurement and mass-market promotion. Additionally, U-Next entered into business partnerships with Dentsu and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners to utilize the video distribution platform for advertising and other related businesses.[26] On March 31, the merger was completed, and the following day, TBS Holdings and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, acquired U-Next's shares.[26]
In March 2023, Usen-Next Holdings President Yasuharu Uno stated the company's ambition to reach 10 million subscribers and surpass Netflix within five to ten years, noting a willingness to cooperate with other domestic platforms to compete globally.[27]
On June 29, U-Next announced that it had conducted a third-party allotment of shares to TBS Holdings, raising approximately 24.3 billion yen in funding. This resulted in TBS Holdings' ownership stake increasing from 2.25% to 20%, and U-Next became an equity method affiliate company of TBS Holdings.[28]
On June 30, the integration of Paravi into U-Next was completed. As a result, approximately 10,000 drama series and variety programs owned by Paravi, including those from TBS and TV Tokyo, became available for viewing on U-Next.[29][30][26] The merged service reported combined revenues exceeding ¥800 billion, there were 3.7 million paid subscribers, and a library of 350,000 titles. This positioned the merged service as the second-largest video streaming service in the Japanese market, following Netflix, in terms of total revenue, paid subscribers, and title count.[31][32]
Expansion of sports content
In April 2023, U-Next signed a multi-year domestic distribution agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), securing exclusive livestreaming rights for all UFC events, including Numbered Series, Fight Nights, and Road to UFC.[33]
On June 21, 2023, U-Next announced a fundamental partnership agreement with Spanish La Liga until the 2027-28 season. Starting from the 2023-24 season, U-Next became the exclusive Japanese broadcaster for all La Liga matches, as well as the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España, within Japan.[34][35]
On July 23, 2024, U-Next secured a domestic partnership agreement with the English Premier League until the 2030–31 season. Starting in the 2024–25 season, the platform exclusively livestreams all league matches and the FA Cup. On August 9, U-Next launched the U-Next Soccer Pack for an additional ¥2,600 per month, providing access to all Premier League and La Liga matches. The pack is also available as a standalone subscription.[36]
According to the company president Tenshin Tsutsumi, the service's expansion is largely due to its sports offerings, with European association football showing clear profitability. He stated that the platform will focus on four main pillars: golf, soccer, combat sports, and tennis. Regarding strategy, he added that U-Next favors regular competitions over large-scale events like the World Cup to maximize investment efficiency.[37]
Growth to 5 million subscribers
In September 2024, U-Next partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to integrate the Max streaming service into its platform. Under the agreement, all HBO and Max original movies and series are exclusively distributed in Japan via U-Next, and select Japanese programming is distributed globally through Max.[38]
On November 26, 2025, the service reported that it had topped 5 million paying subscribers. According to the announcement, U-Next is the first Japanese SVOD provider with a monthly fee of ¥1,000 or higher to achieve a subscriber base of this size.[1][39]
To enhance its global presence, U-Next entered the film production market with A Pale View of Hills, an adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel. The film, executive produced by Tsutsumi, was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025. Following its international debut, the movie was released domestically on September 5, 2025, through distributor Gaga.[40]
On November 12, 2025, the company announced a strategic goal of reaching over 6.3 million subscribers by August 2030. During the announcement, Tsutsumi also revealed plans to enter the music streaming market by August 2026. Citing global trends in media consolidation, Tsutsumi emphasized the necessity of "economies of scale" in response to the saturated Japanese market.[41]
Contents
Programming
U-Next licenses content from a variety of major distributors, including Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global, TBS Television, and TV Tokyo. Additionally, content from NHK On Demand is available for separate purchase on the platform.
Books
U-Next provides digital access to manga and magazines from publishers such as Shogakukan, Kodansha, Shueisha, Kadokawa, Shufu no Tomo, Takarajimasha, and Shinchosha. The platform's library includes over 10,000 manga titles and more than 180 magazines at no additional cost. Major weekly manga anthologies, including Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump, and Weekly Shōnen Champion, are available for individual purchase.[42]
In November 2022, U-Next launched its original comic label, U-Next Comic, which is further divided into three sub-labels.[43]
Sports
U-Next streams a range of sports content, including all events from the UFC, Glory kickboxing, Bellator MMA, and PGA Tour. The platform held exclusive live streaming rights for 33 PGA Tour events during the 2022–2023 season.[44]
Between March 2023 and June 2024, U-Next offered access to matches from the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, Serie A, and Major League Baseball.[36] As of June 30, 2023, it began live streaming all home games of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the Central League, including interleague play and the Japan Series.[45]
Beginning in August 2024, all matches from the Premier League and La Liga are available through an add-on service called the U-Next Soccer Pack, which is also offered as a standalone subscription.[36]
Adult content
The H-Next service, which offers pornographic video content, is accessible only via the web on video.hnext.jp to users aged 18 and over. The service was initially bundled with U-Next’s monthly subscription but was separated as of June 21, 2024. At the same time, support for Visa and Mastercard payments was discontinued, reportedly due to pressure from credit card companies.[46]
Paravi
 Logo used from 2018 to 2023 | |
| Available in | Japanese |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 1, 2018 |
| Dissolved | June 30, 2023 |
| Successor | U-Next |
| Owner | Premium Platform Japan |
| URL | www.paravi.jp (archived on June 1, 2023) |
Premium Platform Japan (PPJ) was established in July 2017 by Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Nikkei, TV Tokyo Holdings, Wowow, Dentsu, and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. On April 1, 2018, PPJ launched Paravi, a subscription streaming service offering approximately 8,000 titles from TBS and TV Tokyo for a monthly fee of ¥999. The name was coined by combining the Greek prefix "para-" (close) and "vision".[47][48]
On September 6, 2018, Wowow announced that its three BS channels would be available via 24-hour streaming on Paravi for existing subscribers.[49] Paravi’s first original drama series, ''Tourist'', aired in 2018 across TBS, TV Tokyo, and Wowow, with exclusive extended versions streaming on Paravi.[50][51][52]
In February 2019, Paravi introduced a plan allowing standalone online streaming of Wowow channels, which was later discontinued in 2021 when Wowow launched its own on-demand service.[53] During the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Paravi offered free streaming of select dramas and anime.[54]
Following the February 2023 merger announcement with U-Next, Paravi's operations were fully integrated into the U-Next platform by July 2023, and its independent service was dissolved.[55]
Points System
U-Next features a point-based system, with one point equivalent to one yen. Paid subscribers receive 1,200 points on the first day of each month. These points can be used to purchase premium content such as pay-per-view videos and e-books, as well as services like NHK On Demand and SPOTV Now. Additionally, points can be redeemed for movie tickets at major cinema chains in Japan.