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Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) will air “Hibana” (Spark), an original drama series produced by Netflix Inc., the world’s largest U.S.-based streaming video provider.
Based on the novel of the same name by Naoki Matayoshi, which won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, “Hibana” will run on NHK’s General channel.
It is unusual for the public broadcaster to air a drama series previously streamed online.
The 10-episode series will be shown from Feb. 26 on Sundays. Each 50-minute episode will be edited to trim 5 minutes of content, except for the final episode which will run in full.
Netflix made a late start in Japan’s video streaming market in fall 2015. Gaining exclusive streaming rights for “Hibana” proved to be a trump card in attracting new subscribers.
Jointly produced by Netflix and the entertainment artist agency Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., “Hibana” was first streamed online worldwide in June last year.
“It has garnered a good response at home and abroad as we expected,” said a spokesperson for Netflix.
As a matter of policy, the company “cannot make public” its audience ratings or number of views, the spokesperson added.
On the issue of airing content that originated on the Internet, a source close to NHK said: “The most important thing is whether a lot of people want to see it or not. Who produced it is not relevant any longer. Internet-originated shows have become that much better in quality.”
(The Asahi Shimbun)
