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‘Vivant’ Tops Asia Streaming Chart, First Japanese Drama to Lead, Report Finds

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@ 16/09/2026

TBS drama “Vivant” outdrew every other streaming title across Asia last month, excluding China and India, becoming the first Japanese show to top ampd Analytics’ regional monthly ranking since the measurement firm began tracking the market.

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The finding comes from a new ampd Vision report titled “Vivant: A TV Broadcast Hit, Streamed.”

“Vivant,” which launched its second season in July as part of TBS’s Sunday Theater slot, pulled in 15.6 million unique viewers regionwide in August, with 15.1 million watching in Japan alone. That figure equals a quarter of the 61.4 million viewers ampd tracks across Japanese VOD, according to the report from ampd Analytics, the streaming measurement arm of Media Partners Asia (MPA).

The series follows Yusuke Nogi, a Japanese trading company employee drawn into an international conspiracy tied to a shadowy government intelligence unit known as Beppan. Season 2 picks up immediately after the first season’s cliffhanger and was shot partly on location in Azerbaijan.

Much of that reach came through TVer, the free platform operated by Japan’s broadcast networks, which drew 10.2 million of the show’s viewers. Only two other titles have ever pulled 10 million viewers on one platform in a single market within a month, according to ampd: broadcasts of the World Baseball Classic in Japan and the Korean drama “Teach You a Lesson,” both distributed on Netflix. TBS made the new season available on TVer at no cost within an hour of its Sunday broadcast, reserving paid streaming exclusively for U-Next. That arrangement created a second viewing peak each week, on Monday nights, and 92% of viewers who came back for a new episode had already watched the previous one by the time it aired.

The show’s popularity also lifted viewership of its first season elsewhere. Netflix’s audience for “Vivant” grew more than eightfold between May and August, from 300,000 viewers to 2.5 million, while U-Next’s viewership rose over the same period from 100,000 to 2 million. That shift happened even among subscribers who already had access to the show elsewhere: an estimated one in eight Prime Video subscribers and one in 10 Netflix subscribers in Japan chose to watch “Vivant” on TVer rather than on the services they already pay for.

Beyond the streaming platforms, “Vivant” built a substantial following on YouTube, where related content drew 13.2 million viewers, nearly matching its VOD reach. That audience was spread across more than 1,600 videos posted by 450 channels, totaling 8.8 million hours watched at an average of almost 40 minutes per viewer. A companion show TBS produced alongside the drama, “Villains’ Meeting Room,” averaged more than 1.3 million viewers an episode.

“‘Vivant’ is a distribution story as much as a content story,” said Sam Yousif, managing director of ampd Analytics. “A quarter of Japan’s tracked VOD audience watched one drama in a single month, and premium subscribers moved to a free platform to follow it. Japan is the largest VOD market we measure, with the closest relationship between broadcast and streaming anywhere in the region, and measuring a title today means measuring it everywhere it lives, including YouTube, where ‘Vivant’ reached almost as many people as it did on VOD.”

The drama’s success did not extend much beyond Japan’s borders. Some 97% of all “Vivant” viewing came from local audiences, ampd found, a pattern consistent with Japanese dramas’ broader struggles abroad: they land in Netflix’s global top 10 outside Japan just 0.3 times a month on average, well behind Korean dramas at 4.1 times and Japanese anime at 1.4. %!s()

‘Pride and Prejudice’ Premiere Date Set at Netflix, Full Cast Photos Unveiled

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@ 16/09/2026

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It is totally the year of yearning — here's a look at Emma Corrin, Jack Lowden, Rufus Sewell, Louis Partridge, Daryl McCormack and Freya Mavor in the six-part adaptation of Austen's beloved novel.

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September 16, 2026 1:25am

Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet in Netflix's 'Pride and Prejudice' Justin Downing/Netflix

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Bonnets at the ready: The six-part Pride and Prejudice is coming to Netflix Dec. 3.

Series writer Dolly Alderton (Everything I Know About Love, Ghosts) gave the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England the first full look at every single cast member, including Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet, Rufus Sewell as Mr. Bennet and Louis Partridge as the roguish Mr. Wickham.

Also photographed below are Emma Corrin as our beloved protagonist Lizzy Bennet, Jack Lowden as the stony Mr. Darcy and Daryl McCormack as the doe-eyed Mr. Bingley. Freya Mavor co-stars as Jane Bennet alongside Jamie Demetriou as Mr. Collins, Rhea Norwood as Lydia Bennet, Siena Kelly as Caroline Bingley, Fiona Shaw as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Hopey Parish as Mary Bennet and Hollie Avery as Kitty Bennet.

Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet in Netflix’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Justin Downing/Netflix

Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy Justin Downing/Netflix

In a year rife with regency drama for loyal fans — the world premiere of Focus Features’ Sense and Sensibility took place just last night, where THR caught up with stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and George MacKay — the series will “join the yearn-aissance in the autumn to faithfully bring Jane Austen’s iconic story back to life for audiences that cherish it, whilst inspiring a new generation to fall in love with it for the first time,” said Netflix.

The streaming platform also confirmed on Wednesday that the six episodes “will hew closely to the 1813 novel — which has captivated readers for centuries with its ever-relevant social commentary, razor-sharp wit, and indelible love story — but also take some thoughtful creative turns.”

Alderton said when the trailer was released in February: “Once in a generation, a group of people get to retell this wonderful story and I feel very lucky that I get to be a part of it. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the blueprint for romantic comedy — it has been a joy to delve back into its pages to find both familiar and fresh ways of bringing this beloved book to life.”

Check out the rest of the photos from Netflix’s Pride and Prejudice below.

Rufus Sewell as Mr. Bennet Justin Downing/Netflix

Daryl McCormack as Mr. Bingley Justin Downing/Netflix

Louis Partridge as Mr. Wickham Justin Downing/Netflix

Freya Mavor as Jane Bennet and Emma Corrin as Lizzy Bennet in Netflix’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Justin Downing/Netflix

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Transfer deadline day 2026: Every done deal on deadline day

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@ 16/09/2026

Premier League

Yann Gboho [Toulouse - Coventry] Undisclosed

Djylian N'Guessan [St-Etienne - Liverpool] £4.3m (joining officially in January)

English Football League

Nicholas Bilakopic [Unattached - Derby]

International

Morgan Whittaker [Middlesbrough - Colorado Rapids] Undisclosed

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Ukraine's message to Asian nations: your chips are turning up in Russian missiles

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@ 16/09/2026

Advisor and Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk gives a briefing on the need for Ukraine's partners to impose interim sanctions on Russian ballistic weapons manufacturers and cut off supplies of foreign components to Russia's military-industrial complex, Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 26, 2026.

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Yevhen Kotenko | Future Publishing | Getty Images

SINGAPORE — Ukraine's sanctions envoy said Russia could be forced to retreat from the war within six months if its oil revenues are halved, as he pressed governments across Asia to shut down loopholes letting Russian tankers and weapons components slip through the region undetected.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's commissioner for sanctions policy, said during his trip in Singapore on Tuesday that sanctions remain the most effective lever to force Moscow into serious peace talks.

"Sanction is a really good way to force the Russian side to start talking," Vlasiuk said in remarks to media at Ukraine's Embassy in Singapore. "We also believe that sanctions so far caused a lot of difficulties for the Russian economy — a lot of constraints, a change of dynamics."

He added that a further round of "really crushing sanctions" could put Russia "in a tricky situation" and force a withdrawal over the next six months, if oil revenues — a critical source of cash for Moscow — are cut by at least half.

The remarks came as Kyiv steps up outreach to Asia, a region increasingly viewed as a weak link in the sanctions architecture built by the U.S., European Union and Group of Seven nations, since the Russian invasion in 2022.

Indian and Chinese refiners have absorbed the bulk of discounted Russian crude, helping Moscow keep oil revenue flowing even as Western governments tightened price-cap enforcement.

Southeast Asian ports and free-trade zones have emerged as waypoints for ship-to-ship transfers that obscure the origin of sanctioned Russian cargos.

During the Asia trip, Vlasiuk said he planned to meet officials in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand to discuss Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," used to move oil without depending on Western companies and thus avoiding the imposed price ceilings, and the flow of microelectronics into Russia's defense industry.

According to files reviewed by CNBC, components recovered from a missile shot down in the Kyiv region last month originated primarily from the U.S., Russia, China, Taiwan and Japan, underscoring how deeply embedded global supply chains remain in Russia's weapons production, even after more than three years of export controls.

Europe's support for Ukraine deep strikes sends Putin message: analyst

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"Some of the microelectronic components used in such missiles reach Russia through the Asian region," the Ukrainian special envoy said.

He added that the risk extends beyond Russia: "You have to be very careful about sending around certain types of mechanicals, because otherwise those would be ending up in the military-industrial complexes of terrorist countries," including Iran and North Korea.

'Gray zone' tactics

Vlasiuk also warned against underestimating Moscow's willingness to operate below the threshold of open conflict with NATO members.

Russia has escalated pressure on Ukraine's European allies in recent weeks through a series of "gray-zone" actions designed to unsettle regional governments, as its forces struggle to gain ground in Ukraine and absorb mounting Ukrainian drone and missile strikes at home.

European authorities have linked Moscow to a rising number of drone incursions, sabotage incidents, cyberattacks, and other hostile acts across the continent in recent months.

"Wake up, people — the world has changed," Vlasiuk said. "Russia is not that funny bear anymore. It's not funny. It's a bear that's dangerous, and you have to be tight and powerful against it," he said. %!s()

Meet the Scottish teenagers poised to represent Uganda

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@ 16/09/2026

Teenage brothers Olly and Seb Fisher are closing in on their dream of international recognition - but it won't come from their homeland of Scotland.

Instead, the Partick Thistle duo are in line to play for Uganda.

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They believe they would become the first white players ever to represent the African nation, thanks to their mother Kate being born there.

"My gran and grandad lived out here for, I think, four or five years," Olly, 18, tells BBC Sport Scotland. "My grandfather came out here to teach in a school then my mum was born here. So, it's a bit of a strange one."

The siblings became aware of interest from Uganda about six months ago, following a chance conversation some time before between their father and a football consultant at a game in Nigeria.

And, at the start of August, they were invited to attend under-20 and under-17s training camps.

They spent last week in Jinja in the country's eastern region and will stay on for one more week, with the pair saying they're "shocked" and "honoured" at the call-ups.

"I couldn't believe it," 16-year-old striker Seb said. "It's one of those things you look at and you're shocked. You can't believe it. Most other people couldn't as well."

Goalkeeper Olly had a similar reaction. "A real mixture of emotions," he said. "I was quite shocked. I didn't really think that this was a possibility but I was honoured to be asked to represent Uganda. I thought it was a real big opportunity."

Mum Kate is "ecstatic" and "thinks it'd be a great experience for us", adds Seb.

There is another Scottish link with Uganda, with former Hearts and Ghana midfielder Laryea Kingston currently coach of Uganda's under-20s.

And he is the one who believes the Fisher brothers are on the verge of making history.

"Coach Kingston was saying we'd be the first white boys to play for Uganda, which would be history in the making," Seb explained. "It is very special."

And Olly added: "It's never been done before, so definitely it is very special."

The pair feel like they're making connections with the African nation, having been reared on stories about Uganda from their grandparents.

And even though they have been training in oppressively warm conditions, they are embracing the opportunity.

"Everyone has been brilliant, welcoming, really great," Seb said. "The other boys have been brand new with us. Some of the boys actually come from the same area where my mum was born. So, they were all talking about that."

The boys will return to Scotland soon, combining training and playing with Thistle with university and school, but are planning to rejoin their new international team-mates in the near future.

Olly hopes to be part of his squad if they qualify for the Under-20's Africa Cup of Nations early next year, and Seb could be in the Under-17 squad for November's World Cup in Qatar.

"That's what you want as a footballer, being in an international environment," Seb said. "It makes you a better player and hopefully it does for the two of us, and I think it will, and benefit us very much going back to Scotland playing at Thistle." %!s()