AMC Global Media’s anime-focused streaming service HIDIVE and Japan’s Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) have signed a new multi-year exclusive output deal — the largest content programming agreement in HIDIVE’s history.
The pact, announced Monday, extends a partnership the two companies first launched in March 2023. Under the renewed agreement, HIDIVE will simulcast MBS’ upcoming multi-year slate of series exclusively as new titles roll out over coming seasons.
Availability for subscribers includes the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
Nia Liston Premieres at Anime NYC
The deal’s inaugural title, “Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden,” receives its North American premiere on August 21, 2026, at 4 p.m. in Room 1A15-18 at Anime NYC 2026 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
The fantasy action series will then debut in Japan on October 6, 2026. It will air on Tokyo MX, BS NTV, and MBS before streaming as part of HIDIVE’s Fall 2026 Simulcast Season.
Adapted from the light novel by Minamino Umikaze, with illustrations by Katana Canata and Jishaku, the series is directed by Nakanishi Motoki.
Segi Haruta serves as assistant director. Ichikawa Gigaemon handles series composition, with production by Konami Animation. Inoue Honoka stars as protagonist Nia Liston.
The series follows Nia, a young woman whose death was fated — until a mysterious man gave her a second chance.
Reborn with the soul of an undefeated hero, Nia must master chi to overcome a devastating illness and rebuild her body.
While doing so, a new desire for combat and adventure takes hold.
Leadership Reacts
John Ledford, president of HIDIVE, called the extension a milestone for the service’s anime distribution ambitions.
“Our historic anime partnership with MBS has been a resounding success and we are thrilled to extend our global distribution alliance with a new exclusive output deal, now HIDIVE’s largest ever content programming deal to date.
This expansive multi-year agreement reinforces HIDIVE’s bona fides with both fans and industry as one of the world’s most established and leading distributors of the best new genre-spanning anime that Japan has to offer.
We are excited to premiere the deal’s inaugural title ‘Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden’ later this month at Anime NYC, ahead of its debut this October as part of HIDIVE’s Fall 2026 Simulcast Season.”
Shibata Mihoko, director at MBS, framed the renewal in terms of the partnership’s growing global footprint.
“Over the past three years, our partnership with AMC Global Media and HIDIVE has significantly expanded the global reach of MBS animation, bringing our hit series to dedicated anime fans around the world.
We are thrilled to extend this successful alliance through our new multi-year output deal.
Beginning with ‘Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden,’ we look forward to continuing to deliver our most anticipated new titles to international audiences and growing the global anime community together.”
Building on Three Years of Titles
The existing alliance has already delivered several titles to HIDIVE’s catalog, including “My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha,” “I Parry Everything,” “The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior,” and “Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World With Garbage Balancing.”
That track record is now the foundation for a slate of new programming that HIDIVE will roll out across multiple upcoming seasons.
MBS, headquartered in Osaka, has a broadcast history stretching back more than seven decades.
The company began radio transmissions in 1951 and moved into terrestrial television in 1959. It has built a catalog of co-produced anime over more than 50 years that includes Attack on Titan.
The size of this renewed commitment — described by both sides as HIDIVE’s largest content programming deal to date — signals how central the MBS relationship has become to the service’s global strategy.
Additional titles from the expanded MBS slate will be unveiled at a later date. Specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
P. Angus covers anime and music for The Pop Reporter — new shows, season announcements, studio and staff news, and the artists and releases people are talking about. He knows the space well enough to tell a real update from a rumor.
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Aug 11, 2026
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4 min read
