Netflix Acquires Rights To Stream Ghibli Anime Internationally

California-based video streaming giant Netflix Inc. NFLX has secured a deal with Japan's Studio Ghibli Inc. to stream all of its content internationally.

What Happened

The Ghibli anime will be available on the Netflix platform across the world, except the United States, Canada, and Japan, Netflix announced Monday.

In a first, AT&T Inc.'s T subsidiary WarnerMedia acquired the rights to stream all Ghibli content in the U.S., October last year, for its HBO Max streaming service.

Ghibli content wasn't available on any streaming platform ahead of the HBO deal.

"In this day and age, there are various great ways a film can reach audiences. We've listened to our fans and have made the definitive decision to stream our film catalogue" Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki said in a statement, according to Variety.

"We hope people around the world will discover the world of Studio Ghibli through this experience."

What's Next

The anime will be made available on Netflix's platform starting February 1 with the release of the first seven shows, including "Castle in the Sky," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Only Yesterday," "Porco Rosso," "Ocean Waves," and "Tales from Earthsea."

The academy award winner "Spirited Away" will be released a month later in March along with six other shows. The last seven shows will become available another month later in April.