Move comes ahead of proposed merger of local streamers TVing and Wavve
South Korean media giant CJ ENM and the investment arm of domestic conglomerate SK Group are investing more than W250bn (£140bn) in local streamer Wavve, as the companies look to create a merged service to compete with global rivals such as Netflix.
The news was revealed in regulatory filings and will see CJ ENM investing W100bn in SK Telecom-owned Wavve, while SK Square will contribute W150bn.
CJ ENM and the SK Group are looking to merge streamers TVing and Wavve in the first half of next year. Seoul-based CJ ENM, which owns companies including Fifth Season, is the biggest shareholder in TVing, with a 48.9% stake.
Wavve, meanwhile, is operated by SK Group subsidiary SK Telecom, while its Investment arm SK Square holds a 40.5% in the streamer.
Yoon Sang-hyun, CJ ENM’s chief executive, said the investment would allow “enhanced user convenience and better content supply,” while increasing the “competitiveness of local OTT platforms.”
Han Myung-jin, SK Square chief executive, added the companies would “work towards integrating both platforms to drive future growth of a unified streamer, while contributing to the advancement of Korea’s OTT industry.”
The investment comes as the battle for local viewers in South Korea hots up, where Netflix claims almost 12m subscribers.
A move to combine Wavve and TVing would create a considerable local competitor, with the former claiming 8m subscribers and the latter recording more than 4m.
South Korea has become a key territory in the battle to dominate global streaming, with local shows proving hugely popular with viewers around the world.
CJ ENM recently confirmed plans to spend W1tn (£570m) on shows and has around 20 global projects currently in development, with sibling Studio Dragon looking to produce formats for US and Japanese local markets.
TVing has also been experimenting in new genres, recently launching the country’s first historical drama from a local streamer: Queen Woo.
Netflix is not the only global streamer eyeing Korean growth. Disney+ recently unveiled a raft of new programming from the country, with Carol Choi, executive vice-president of originals at Walt Disney Company APAC, highlighting that nine of the top 15 most-viewed international originals this year have hailed from Korea.
No comments yet