Toshi Honda has served as COO of U-NEXT Co., Ltd. since 2019, overseeing its growth into the largest market share holder amongst domestic OTT services in Japan. Prior to U-NEXT, Toshi has held multiple positions within various Hollywood studios, starting with distribution at The Walt Disney Company (Japan) in 2003, later joining Warner Entertainment Japan Inc. (now Warner Bros. Japan, LLC) in 2006, where he was responsible for developing the SVOD business in line with Warner’s international business strategy. In 2016, he joined 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Asia Pacific (APAC) Group as the Head of Digital Distribution. In addition to his role as COO, Toshi concurrently serves on the board of directors for U-NEXT.
U-NEXT is Japan’s leading video streaming platform, providing the largest volume of SVOD content in Japan. In addition to the over 360,000 movies, live-action, and animated series available for on-demand streaming, U-NEXT also provides a variety of real-time live streaming of music concerts, stage productions, and top-level sports events ranging from soccer, baseball, golf, to martial arts. With a selection of over 1,010,000 manga, e-books and e-magazines. U-NEXT provides a unique entertainment experience amongst Japan’s digital platforms, giving subscribers the opportunity to enjoy electronic publications, video content, sports, concerts, and more within a single application. Through the service integration of Paravi in July 2023, a vast selection of the latest, best, and most-watched local variety and scripted dramas from Japan’s leading terrestrial channels TBS and TV Tokyo as well as an extensive library of terrestrial TV programming was added to U-NEXT’s lineup, further solidifying the service’s position in the market for strong local content.