Bilibili anime distribution and licensing strategy, explained
Bilibili is best known as a Chinese video community, but its anime business rests on original Chinese animation, Japanese licensed titles, and cross-border co-productions.
Published: 2026-08-19. Updated: 2026-08-19.
Short answer: Bilibili is a Chinese video platform whose roots are in anime, comics, and gaming (ACG) culture. Its anime strategy combines user-generated and professionally produced content with a growing catalog of Chinese animation (donghua). According to the company's 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance report, Bilibili had cumulatively aired more than 640 Chinese anime titles and distributed 98 of them overseas. The platform also licenses Japanese anime for domestic streaming and has expanded internationally through Bilibili TV.
How Bilibili started and what it distributes
Bilibili began in 2009 as a community for ACG fans and has since grown into a broader video platform. Its SEC Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 describes the platform as a video community serving Generation Z and younger users, with content ranging from professional user-generated videos (PUGV) to occupationally generated videos (OGV), which include produced or licensed content.
Anime sits at the center of Bilibili's identity. The platform streams both Japanese licensed anime and a large catalog of Chinese-produced donghua. The Bilibili TV English interface labels some titles as BiliBili only, indicating exclusive distribution rights for certain series outside mainland China.
Bilibili's investment in Chinese animation
Bilibili has made Chinese animation a strategic priority. The company's 2024 ESG report states that Bilibili had cumulatively aired more than 640 Chinese anime titles and distributed 98 titles overseas. This suggests the platform is not only a domestic distributor but also an exporter of Chinese animation.
The model differs from pure licensing. By investing in and producing donghua, Bilibili can control distribution windows and retain a stake in the underlying intellectual property. This is closer to the production-committee approach used by Japanese broadcasters than to the catalog-licensing model used by many Western anime streamers.
International expansion and co-productions
Bilibili has expanded beyond China through Bilibili TV, an international-facing service that offers anime with multi-language subtitles. The platform has also entered co-production partnerships with Japanese broadcasters. A Fuji Television announcement in 2023 described a strategic partnership with Bilibili aimed at program sales, rights distribution, co-productions using each other's IP, and joint development of new IP.
The first fruit of that partnership was the B8station programming block on Fuji TV, which broadcast Japanese-dubbed versions of popular Bilibili anime such as Link Click. The two companies later announced a live-action drama co-production and the jointly developed anime Tomb Raider King. This shows Bilibili's strategy moving from content acquisition to bilateral IP development.
How Bilibili monetizes anime content
Bilibili's revenue model includes premium memberships, advertising, mobile games, live broadcasting, and IP licensing. The SEC filing shows that value-added services, which include premium membership, are the largest revenue segment. Premium members receive access to exclusive or advance OGV content, including anime.
The platform also monetizes IP downstream. Because Bilibili invests in original donghua, it can license merchandising, game adaptation, and overseas distribution rights. The 2024 ESG report's mention of 98 overseas distributions suggests that international licensing is now a measurable part of the anime business.
What Bilibili's disclosures do not show
Bilibili does not break out anime-specific revenue or disclose per-title licensing costs. The 640-plus Chinese anime titles and 98 overseas distributions are cumulative figures, not annual counts, and the company does not specify which territories or platforms received the overseas titles.
Investors and rights holders therefore cannot calculate the exact size of Bilibili's anime business from public filings. The available evidence shows a platform with deep ACG roots, a large donghua catalog, and a clear strategy to expand both production and overseas distribution.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bilibili's anime content strategy?
Bilibili combines licensed Japanese anime with a large investment in Chinese animation (donghua). As of its 2024 ESG report, it had aired more than 640 Chinese anime titles and distributed 98 overseas.
Does Bilibili produce its own anime?
Yes. Bilibili produces and co-produces original Chinese animation, giving it control over distribution windows and downstream IP rights. It has also co-produced content with Japanese partners such as Fuji TV.
Is Bilibili available outside China?
Bilibili operates Bilibili TV internationally, offering anime with multi-language subtitles. Some titles are marked as BiliBili only, indicating exclusive distribution for certain series.
How does Bilibili make money from anime?
Bilibili monetizes anime through premium memberships, advertising, mobile games, live broadcasting, and IP licensing, including overseas distribution and merchandise or game adaptation rights.
Sources and methodology
- Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, Bilibili Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Annual report describing Bilibili's platform, revenue segments, MAU and DAU definitions, and the distinction between PUGV and OGV content.
- Bilibili Publishes 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance Report, Bilibili Inc. via Morningstar. April 9, 2025. States Bilibili cumulatively aired more than 640 Chinese anime titles and distributed 98 overseas.
- Fuji TV and bilibili strategic partnership on Link Click live-action drama, FUJI TELEVISION NETWORK, INC.. Announced February 18, 2026. Describes the Bilibili partnership, B8station block, co-productions, and joint IP development.