AMC Global Media’s anime-focused HIDIVE streaming service and Japan’s Mainichi Broadcasting System have signed a new multi-year exclusive output deal, marking HIDIVE’s largest content programming agreement to date.
The pact expands a partnership the companies launched in 2023, under which HIDIVE holds exclusive worldwide rights to distribute select MBS anime programming outside Asia.
The existing alliance has already brought HIDIVE hits 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.”
The deal’s inaugural title, “Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden,” debuts stateside on Aug. 21 during Anime NYC 2026, ahead of joining HIDIVE’s Fall 2026 Simulcast Season lineup when it bows in Japan this October.
The fantasy action series is adapted from the light novel by Minamino Umikaze, illustrated by Katana Canata and Jishaku. Nakanishi Motoki directs, with Segi Haruta as assistant director, series composition by Ichikawa Gigaemon and production by Konami Animation. Inoue Honoka stars as protagonist Nia Liston. A trailer for “Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden” has been unveiled. Additional titles from the MBS slate will be unveiled later.
“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,” said John Ledford, president of HIDIVE. “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.”
“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,” added Shibata Mihoko, director of Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. “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.”
MBS, headquartered in Osaka, began radio broadcasts in 1951 and terrestrial television broadcasting in 1959. The broadcaster has co-produced and aired anime across more than 50 years, with credits including “Attack on Titan,” “Full Metal Alchemist,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Dan Da Dan” and “Akira.”
Watch the trailer for “Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden” here: