This Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, photo shows the Netflix app on an iPhone in New York. Netflix reports financial results Wednesday, Oct. 16. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
As Netflix Inc prepares for a bruising battle against the Walt Disney Co and Apple Inc for streaming subscribers, it’s playing a card that may deliver enough of an edge to fend them off in Asia: Japanese anime.
Although Netflix has featured animation for years, the leading streaming provider of 158 million users is stepping up its anime efforts as new rivals such as Apple, Disney and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max roll out their services. All of them have identified animation as a way to lure viewers – from Disney’s historic archive to a recent victory by HBO Max in clinching the coveted US distribution rights for most of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films.
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