Netflix, the Digital West in Asia: New Models, Challenges and Collaborations

This chapter focuses on the growing number of digital media streaming platforms in Asia, particularly East Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Streaming digital platforms such as Netflix are generally referred to as over-the-top video, video-on-demand or online television services that are considered the major competitors of traditional terrestrial television services. An intriguing question is whether Netflix, as a Western digital platform for the dissemination of popular culture and entertainment, could become another dominant form of cultural globalization. Would the presence of Western digital media streaming platforms in Asia become another form of global popular culture that competes with, challenges and overshadows local platforms? The successful collaboration between Netflix and South Korea's film industry is exemplified by the action-adventure movie Okja, which was released in 2017 and directed by South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho, who won an Academy Award for Best Director for Parasite.