Global streaming services land in Korea as local OTTs head overseas

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Global streaming services land in Korea as local OTTs head overseas

Data provided by MobileIndex.

Data provided by MobileIndex.

 
Korea is becoming a major over-the-top (OTT) platform market as more global streaming services are planning to launch their platforms in Korea while domestic OTT services are preparing to expand overseas.  
 
Paramount Global, a major American media conglomerate, will launch its OTT platform, Paramount+, in Korea this June. Korea will be the first Asian country it launches the OTT platform in, according to U.S. tech outlet, TechCrunch.  
 
“In 2022, we’re continuing to expand Paramount+ to the biggest markets in the world, starting with the U.K. and South Korea in June,” said Paramount President and CEO Robert Bakish during an earnings call on May 3.
 
The OTT streaming service, which is known for owning popular American TV series such as “CSI” and “NSCI,” will land in the country as an exclusive bundle with Tving, CJ ENM’s streaming service.
 
The partnership between Paramount and CJ ENM was made in December 2021, for coproduction, content licensing and distribution of TV shows and films in the country.
 
The launch of global OTT services in the country is increasing competition within the streaming service market.
 
Disney Plus and Apple TV were introduced locally last year, which led to a sharp decrease in subscriptions to other OTT platforms. 
 
The monthly active users (MAU) of Netflix, the No.1 OTT platform in Korea, declined to 11.53 million this April after maintaining its 12 million level since last September.  
 
Local streaming platform Wavve, the next most-widely used platform in the country, saw a drop in its MAU to 4.33 million from 4.9 million during the same period.
 
The competition between these streaming services is anticipated to become a “zero-sum” game, as they battle to take subscribers from each other. 
 
Netflix revealed in April that for the first time in more than a decade it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.  
 
 Global platform demand share for streaming originals in the first quarter of 2022 [Parrot Analytics]

Global platform demand share for streaming originals in the first quarter of 2022 [Parrot Analytics]

 
As competition is becoming fiercer, OTT platforms are diversifying.  
 
An area these platforms are turning toward is short-form content and new streaming services that only provide videos that are less than 15 minutes long.
 
A local media company called IHQ launched its short-form OTT platform “Babayo” on May 3.  
 
However, providing unique forms of videos, like short-form clips, does not always lead to success.
 
Quibi, a short-form content company founded by American film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, became available in the United States in 2020 but had to shut down after six months. The company was known for recruiting famous Hollywood directors to produce its shows, but failed to provide so-called “killer content” to differentiate itself from other platforms.  
 
Another key factor that global OTT platforms are focused on is localization.  
 
HBO Max, which is anticipated to land in the country this year, is expected to work with a local platform ahead of its launch. HBO had previously signed a 1- year contract with Wavve for content supply last July.  
 
Meanwhile, local OTT platforms are getting ready to expand internationally. Tving will enter the Japanese market this year in collaboration with Naver’s affiliate Line, before expanding into other countries.  
 
Watcha, the first domestic OTT platform to launch its service in Japan in 2020, will also expand its service to more countries.
 
The new government is also planning to support the entry of local OTT platforms into the global market. The administration promised tax deductions for OTT companies and the establishment of an organization called K-OTT to better promote platforms internationally.    
 
 

BY KWEN YU-JIN [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]
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