The cast of "The Office" at the 2006 Emmy Awards (Photo by s_bukley on Shutterstock)
NEW YORK — Americans are consuming over 50% more internationally produced TV shows and books than they were five years ago, according to a recent study.
The survey of 2,000 Americans who read regularly found that not only have international TV shows and books become increasingly popular recently, Americans are often unaware they’re even consuming and enjoying foreign content. Conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by ThriftBooks, the poll revealed that 48% of TV shows and 46% of the books respondents consume are internationally sourced.
However, when quizzed, nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) incorrectly guessed that the popular show “The Office” was originally American. Many also had no idea “House of Cards” (62%), “Jane the Virgin” (60%), and “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” (57%) premiered internationally before coming to America.
The knowledge gap isn’t limited to TV shows. Nearly seven in 10 (68%) had no clue that “The Parent Trap” was written by a foreign author, 58% didn’t know “All Quiet on the Western Front” isn’t an English language novel, and 44% said the same about “Like Water for Chocolate.”
Regardless of the knowledge gap, Americans are generally appreciative of the influx of international content and a third even reported that their favorite book of all time is an international title. Unsurprisingly, younger generations are the most enthusiastic: Gen Z (42%) and millennials (40%) were more likely to favor international content over Gen X (28%) and baby boomers (21%).
American-made isn’t better?
Age aside, 41% of adults believe that international content is of a higher quality than American-made content. The reasoning for this includes people thinking international content is more interesting (48%), creative (43%), and original (38%). A quarter even said international content is more representative of real life than American-made content.
However, when looking for a new TV show to watch or book to read, older generations proved to be the most open-minded to international content, with 73% of baby boomers and 61% of Gen X saying they’re not skeptical, compared to 49% of Gen X and 48% of millennials.
“It’s exciting to see how consumers are embracing international content,” says Barbara Hagen, vice president of marketing at ThriftBooks, in a statement. “According to the research, people who read international books said doing so has given them more perspective and awareness about other cultures (50%) and the desire to travel more (29%). Within the study, it’s also very interesting to see how interest in the manga genre has grown in recent years.”
For the love of manga
Of the 2,000 readers polled, researchers asked 500 manga readers about their reading habits and reasons for enjoying the genre. The average manga reader picked up their first manga novel at age 17, although Gen Z discovered manga earlier than all other generations — at age 13, on average.
More than half of manga readers (54%) said their favorite book is a manga, and both men and women agreed: 56% of men said a manga novel is their favorite read, and 53% of women said the same.
To settle a hot debate, manga lovers listed “Attack on Titan,” “Berserk,” “Death Note,” “Demon Slayer,” “Dragon Ball Z,” “Naruto,” and “One Piece” as some of the best mangas of all time.
For those who haven’t already read manga, 53% reported that they’re open to reading it in the future because it looks interesting (27%), it’s becoming more popular (23%), or they’ve become more interested in Eastern culture and content in general (22%).
“The rise of manga is a great example of how international content and books have positively impacted consumers. And it’s also great to see how open non-manga readers are to exploring the genre,” says Hagen. “If you haven’t recently, we encourage readers to explore different perspectives by picking up a book from a foreign author. Manga in particular could open your eyes to a whole new world and level of enjoyment when reading.”
Survey methodology
Talker Research surveyed 1,500 Americans who read on a regular basis, and 500 who read Manga regularly; the survey was commissioned by ThriftBooks and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between July 1 and July 8, 2024.
