ABSTRACT
In the 21st century, the emergence of internet-based over-the-top (OTT) service platforms, known as video-on-demand (VOD) services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Apple TV+ have tremendously influenced people’s cultural activities. From production to distribution to the OTT industry itself, Asia has experienced a phenomenal shift of the platform and cultural markets mainly because of Netflix's effects. This chapter investigates Netflix's effects as one of the most influential OTT platforms in the global cultural industries, focusing on the crucial nexus of AI, digital platforms, and popular culture. It first discusses the major characteristics of Netflix as the most significant AI-supported OTT service platform, which controls the vicious chain of the cultural industries, from distribution to production. Second, the chapter examines the ways in which Netflix influences the content production industry, focusing on AI and algorithm-driven distribution processes. Then it investigates Netflix's effects in the local OTT industry to understand why OTTs have incorporated AI.
