Disney+ Eyes Japanese Live-Action and 'Verts' Vertical Video as Streaming Chiefs Chart Asia's Next Big Trends

At the APOS summit in Bali, the Asia-Pacific heads of Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery named Japanese live-action, Chinese-language drama and short-form “microdrama” as the region's hottest emerging trends. Disney's Tony Zameczkowski said the company is “just getting started” in APAC and teased Verts, a new vertical-video discovery feature for Disney+.

A decade into the streaming wars in Asia, the region's top platform chiefs have placed their bets on what comes next — and Disney+ is among those eyeing Japanese live-action, short-form microdrama, and a new vertical-video discovery tool called Verts. Speaking at the APOS summit in Bali, the Asia-Pacific leaders of Disney, Netflix, Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery laid out where the next wave of growth will come from across the world's most populous region.

Japanese Live-Action Leads the Pack

If there was one point of consensus on stage, it was the rising power of Japanese live-action. “What we're seeing is that there's a dormant fandom waking up when it comes to Japanese live action and Chinese-language content,” said Minyoung Kim, Netflix's Vice President of Content for Asia. She also singled out Thailand: “The Thai industry is just so good at coming up with new stories and high production value, so I think Thai content also has a lot of potential.” Prime Video's Gaurav Gandhi agreed, noting the global impact of Japanese content and the way Indian drama is “becoming quite mainstream globally.”

Microdrama and Vertical Video: Disney's 'Verts' Play

The format generating the most chatter at APOS was microdrama — bite-sized, vertically shot serialized storytelling built for phones. Warner Bros. Discovery's James Gibbons didn't hesitate when asked for his pick: “I'm going to go for the vertical video format, simply because the demographics and devices are just driving it faster.” Disney's Tony Zameczkowski, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Direct-to-Consumer in APAC, echoed the sentiment and revealed Disney's own move into the space. “The rise of vertical video is also really interesting,” he said. “We recently launched Verts in the U.S., which enables users to browse in a vertical way, and we feel it's going to be a very powerful discovery tool on Disney+.” He also pointed to the blurring line between traditional studios and digital creators, with YouTube talent “coming into the mainstream.”

Local Stories That Travel

All four executives agreed that authentic, local-language content travels further than programming engineered for a global audience. Netflix's Kim recalled pushing back on the very language used inside the company: “When I first started, the team in the U.S. was called ‘Global Original’ and we were called ‘International Original.’ What I told them was, ‘For me, you're international. Why are you global and why are we international?’” That mindset shift, she said, helped Netflix install dedicated APAC, EMEA and UCAN leads reporting directly into its C-suite.

Where Each Streamer Is Placing Its Bets

The first decade of APAC streaming produced very different playbooks. Disney+ has concentrated on Japan and Korea, with ESPN and sports forming a key pillar of its content mix. Prime Video leaned into Japan and India and is now ramping up Korean investment. Netflix has spread across all of the above plus Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and, more recently, the Philippines. Warner Bros. Discovery, quieter during the Paramount acquisition process, used APOS to announce five new titles from Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia, and touted the strength of Western IP — noting that Japan and China rank among the top global markets for the Harry Potter films, with a new TV series and theme parks in Tokyo and Shanghai on the way.

What This Means for Disney Fans

Zameczkowski framed Disney's position bluntly: the company is “just getting started” in a region he called “a very large opportunity.” For Disney+ subscribers, that signals more Japanese and Korean originals, deeper local partnerships, and experimental discovery features like Verts that could eventually roll out beyond the U.S. It's also a reminder of how Disney's flywheel works: as Warner Bros. noted with Harry Potter, fans increasingly experience their favorite stories not just through streaming, but through products and real-world theme park experiences — a strategy Disney has perfected for decades.