TV Tokyo anime business profile: broadcasting, rights, and streaming
TV Tokyo is a broadcaster first, but its anime and distribution segment has become a major profit center built on rights licensing and streaming.
Published: 2026-08-19. Updated: 2026-08-19.
Short answer: TV Tokyo Holdings is a Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime-listed broadcaster with three reporting segments. For the fiscal year ended March 2025, the Anime and Distribution segment generated JPY 50.5 billion in external revenue and JPY 6.6 billion in operating income. That made it the second-largest segment by revenue and the most profitable by operating income. The company has named anime one of four pillars of its growth strategy through 2035.
What TV Tokyo Holdings is
TV Tokyo Holdings Corporation is the parent company of TV Tokyo, a major Japanese commercial broadcaster. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under code 9413 and has its headquarters in Roppongi, Tokyo. The group operates through three reporting segments: Terrestrial and BS Broadcasting, Anime and Distribution, and Shopping and Others.
The Terrestrial and BS Broadcasting segment covers the core broadcasting business, program sales to other stations, and broadcasting support services. The Anime and Distribution segment covers secondary use of broadcasting rights, film investment, events, music publishing, pay CS channels, and digital media including streaming. The Shopping and Others segment covers television shopping, e-commerce, and group services.
TV Tokyo segment results for the fiscal year ended March 2025
For the fiscal year ended March 2025, TV Tokyo Holdings reported consolidated external revenue of JPY 164.9 billion. The Terrestrial and BS Broadcasting segment contributed JPY 100.7 billion, the Anime and Distribution segment contributed JPY 50.5 billion, and Shopping and Others contributed JPY 13.6 billion.
Operating income tells a different story. The Anime and Distribution segment generated JPY 6.6 billion in operating income, ahead of the Terrestrial and BS Broadcasting segment at JPY 5.6 billion. The table below shows the segment breakdown in millions of Japanese yen.
TV Tokyo Holdings segment results, fiscal year ended March 2025, in millions of JPY. Source: TV Tokyo securities filing via J-LiC.| Segment | External revenue | Operating income | Operating margin |
|---|
| Terrestrial and BS Broadcasting | JPY 100,721M | JPY 5,550M | 5.5% |
| Anime and Distribution | JPY 50,546M | JPY 6,587M | 13.0% |
| Shopping and Others | JPY 13,647M | JPY 453M | 3.3% |
Segment-definition note: TV Tokyo defines Anime and Distribution as businesses that use the peripheral rights of broadcast programs, film investment, events, music publishing, pay CS channel operations, and digital media development, operation, and advertising. Segment profit is measured on an operating income basis.
How TV Tokyo makes money from anime
TV Tokyo's anime revenue comes from exploiting program rights rather than producing animation directly. The broadcaster invests in anime productions, sells streaming rights domestically and overseas, licenses merchandise rights, and operates events and music publishing tied to its anime properties.
For the fiscal year ended March 2025, TV Tokyo reported a 10% increase in its anime rights licensing business to JPY 23.1 billion, supported by streaming rights sales for Spy x Family and overseas merchandising rights for Naruto. International sales are a meaningful part of the segment; the company has been expanding overseas merchandising and streaming partnerships.
Ownership and corporate structure
TV Tokyo Holdings is a listed broadcaster without a single controlling shareholder disclosed in the same way as a studio owned by a media conglomerate. It operates as the holding company for TV Tokyo and related subsidiaries. The company was established in October 2010 and converted to the Prime market in April 2022.
Key subsidiaries include TV Tokyo Corporation, which handles broadcasting, and other group companies that support digital media, shopping, and content rights management. The anime business is distributed across these entities but reported as a single segment.
Strategy and where TV Tokyo fits in anime
TV Tokyo has identified anime as one of four pillars of its growth strategy through 2035 and expects anime to become the broadcaster's primary growth engine over the next three years. The strategy focuses on expanding streaming rights sales, overseas merchandising, and direct-to-consumer services.
Unlike pure animation studios, TV Tokyo does not rely on production fees. Its anime segment is a rights and licensing business built on the anime it broadcasts and co-invests in. This gives it high margins but also ties its performance to the strength of its programming slate and the global demand for those specific titles.
Frequently asked questions
How big is TV Tokyo's anime business?
For the fiscal year ended March 2025, TV Tokyo's Anime and Distribution segment generated JPY 50.5 billion in external revenue and JPY 6.6 billion in operating income.
Is TV Tokyo's anime segment its most profitable?
Yes. The Anime and Distribution segment generated more operating income than the larger Terrestrial and BS Broadcasting segment in the fiscal year ended March 2025.
How does TV Tokyo make money from anime?
TV Tokyo monetizes anime through streaming rights sales, merchandise licensing, film investment, events, music publishing, and pay CS channels. It generally co-invests in and broadcasts anime rather than producing it entirely in-house.
What fiscal year does TV Tokyo use?
TV Tokyo Holdings uses a March fiscal year end. The latest available segment data in its securities filing covers the fiscal year ended March 2025.