The digitalization of content is transforming the media and entertainment industry in Korea. Video streaming platforms have been on the rise even before COVID-19, however, the COVID-19 situation has really accelerated this trend. After years of fast growth, the streaming industry in Korea is expected to grow even more in the coming years. There is now a huge global demand for Korean content due to the global expansion of K-pop, K-drama, and Korean culture. Also, there is a high demand for video streaming services in South Korea like never before. It is estimated that the Korean video streaming market stands at over $680 million according to the Korea Communications Commission.
The streaming market is also known as OTT (over-the-top) market. This includes all types of media services and content offered to consumers directly online. Now media platforms no longer have to go through cable companies, broadcasters, and TV networks. This is really changing the content consumed in Korea and many big players in the media industry are scrambling to adapt.
Almost every consumer in Korea owns a smartphone. Therefore, consumers in Korea have access to content right at their fingertips. Therefore, the demand for OTT or SVOD (Streaming Video on Demand) series is all about convenience. They want easy access to content so they can watch it where they want when they want, and with any device.
With many young customers in Korea moving towards these SVOD services, the prices need to stay relatively low. Many SVOD providers charge low monthly fees. It is much cheaper than going to a movie theater in Korea which could cost you at least 30,000 won per person if you include a ticket and snacks. Many SVOD platforms in Korea offer original content that is also high in quality.
Most SVOD platforms in Korea follow the same strategy set by Netflix. This strategy includes creating original content for its subscribers. More and more premium content that would have been released in theaters will now be made directly available on these platforms. The SVOD industry in Korea will accelerate even further.
Netflix is the top Video Streaming Platform in South Korea. Back in 2018, Netflix partnered with LG Uplus Corp. to offer its content on LG’s pay-TV service. In addition, they were able to partner with telecom operator KT Corp. to offer their services on KT’s pay-TV platform Olleh TV. Therefore Olleh TV subscribers now have access to Netflix. The two Korean telecom companies hold a combined 35% share of Korea’s pay-TV market. Now, Netflix has the most active users among the OTT services in Korea with an estimated 9 million paid subscribers.
Some of the most popular Korean originals on Netflix include the zombie thriller Kingdom (2019) and the teen romance “Love Alarm” (2019). Netflix has been able to thrive in Korea because they have been buying the copyright of Korean films outright.
Netflix will need to continue to make big investments in Korea and help make Korean pop culture more accessible outside of Korea. Since 2015, Netflix has invested over $700 million to finance partnerships and co-productions in Korea. To date, there are more than 70 Korean-made shows that are available in over 30 subtitled languages and more than 20 dubbed languages. In 2022, Netflix spent $500 million on films and series produced in South Korea.
“Over the last two years, we’ve seen the world falling in love with incredible Korean content, made in Korea and watched by the world on Netflix. Our commitment towards Korea is strong. We will continue to invest and collaborate with Korean storytellers across a wealth of genres and formats” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO, and chief content officer at Netflix.
The Netflix Law was passed back in May 2020. It requires all content providers (Foreign and Korean) to share network costs with internet service providers in Korea. There are costs for internet service providers in Korea like SK and KT in expanding their network infrastructure to support the high amount of traffic from Netflix.
LG Uplus signed an exclusive partnership with Disney to be their Korean partner for Disney Plus in Korea. The Korean OTT market is dominated by Netflix which has a 40% market share in Korea. Netflix has over 9 million monthly active users which is more than the second biggest player Wavve with 4.2 million.
Disney Plus will offer a wide range of content which includes their Marvel Entertainment package as well as Pixar, and National Geographic. They will also produce original Korean content. Disney Plus already made a partnership with Korean content producer Studio & New to supply Korean content until 2025. Disney Plus will be available for 9,900 won a month or 99,000 won for an annual subscription. The streaming platform will be available in Korea on November 12th.
Korean OTT service provider Wavve was launched by 3 Korean terrestrial broadcasting companies (KBS, MBC, and SBS) in September of 2019. It offers both paid and unpaid memberships and in total has over 11 million subscribers with 4.2 million being paid subscribers. They have monthly subscription models as well as one-off payment models for their movies. They also offer child protection functions, a recommendation system, and an easy purchasing process. Wavve is one of the top video streaming services in South Korea that is going heavily into investing in new content. Wavve plans to invest $900 million into creating original content over the next 4 years to further expand its original strategy.
They have already begun investing in original content and well as getting exclusive release deals for foreign content. There have been talks of a merger with Tving, a Korean SVOD platform to compete with Netflix. In addition, they plan to build their own content studio to boost their ability to produce in-house.
“We are investing our proceeds back to content production to grow as a platform that can contribute to the growth of Korea’s media content industry. We will continue to make more aggressive investments next year to meet the expectations of users for our original content,” said the CEO of Wavve Lee Tae-hyun.
TVING is a video-on-demand platform that is run by the Korean media company CJ ENM. Subscribers can watch both foreign and Korean movies as well as original content. TVING is available on smart TVs, PCs, and mobile devices. In addition, they offer TVING Mall where viewers can purchase products directly on the platform. Currently, the OTT platform has 3.5 million monthly paid subscribers. TVING will do a joint venture with broadcaster JTBC in late 2020 to produce stronger content. The new joint venture will invest more than $360 million to create original content over and double their monthly paid subscribers by the end of 2023.
Currently, subscribers of TVING can enjoy all channels run by CJ ENM and JTBC live as well as previous hit TV series, films, and variety shows.
YouTube Red was launched in Korea back in late 2016. It was a new ad-free subscription service for its YouTube Platform. It offered a range of exclusive viewing options for paying subscribers. At the time it only cost 7,900 won. Subscribers were able to watch ad-free videos and continue playing videos in the background while other apps were running. In addition, they had access to new video content available exclusively through YouTube Red. YouTube Red later became YouTube Premium. It still offers an ad-free experience, background play, and downloads across the millions of videos on YouTube. YouTube Premium currently costs 9,500 won a month.
With the massive success of Netflix in Korea, many other global OTT services like Disney+ and Apple TV are looking to start launching their services in South Korea. Video streaming services in South Korea will continue to see more competition. This could be very bad news for Korean OTT services like Wavve and TVING. It is also bad news for major theaters in Korea like CGV and Megabox. As consumers in Korea start to see all the online content, video entertainment from home will be an essential part of life in Korea moving forward. Major entertainment companies and channels understand this and want to make streaming an essential part of their business. Consumers in Korea may see the value in multiple streaming services and will be willing to pay for both.
Early signs show that Netflix is doing great in Korea. Korean OTT Services like Wavve and TVING are still seeing a rise in subscribers. This proves that consumers in Korea don’t see the video streaming market as a zero-sum game. Will this change if more OTT services enter Korea? This is the big question. The future will probably have different OTT services that provide curated content for niche sectors. One platform will not be able to handle all forms of content in Korea. New content creators in Korea will have more options to shop around their content. This will create niche OTT services that specialize in a particular industry. One thing is for sure, with 5G technology, VR/AR, and the strong IT infrastructure in South Korea, OTT is here to stay.
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