Kodansha Business Media THINKpod Passes 300,000 Subscribers in Three Months
Kodansha is testing whether its editorial craft can transfer to video business media, and the three-month subscriber count suggests the anti-AI positioning is landing with younger business leaders.
Reporting from 1 source: GameBusiness.jp.
Kodansha announced that THINKpod, its business video media launched in June 2026, has passed 300,000 subscribers on its official YouTube channel. The company says the channel is drawing support from U35 next-generation business leaders. THINKpod positions itself against the AI era with the concept that knowledge is not meant to be immediately useful, and has editors from various fields act as planning producers for daily free content.
THINKpod's early hits include investor Kotaro Tamura on asset building, Blue Lock creator Muneyuki Kaneshiro on work philosophy, investor Cholko on building 400 million yen in assets, and actor Yosuke Kubozuka looking back on 30 years in entertainment. Editor-in-chief Soichiro Maruo points to the editorial power of connecting multi-faceted knowledge horizontally as the channel's strength.
For corporate clients, Kodansha is running tie-up projects with Olive Consulting and Suntory that aim to shift viewer attitudes rather than just rack up views. The publisher plans to expand ad menus using its assets, including a Gendai Business linked plan and a limited booklet package.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- GameBusiness.jp 講談社「THINKpod」開設3か月で登録者30万人突破―ビジネス映像メディア