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By Kwak Yeon-soo
Homegrown over-the-top (OTT) service providers are making strong inroads internationally to achieve subscriber growth and bring more original content to audiences around the globe.
CJ ENM has partnered with Viacom CBS to expand the global reach of its streaming platform, Tving. The two will co-produce original series and films as well as cultivate partnerships on content licensing and distribution across streaming services.
It also acquired a controlling stake in U.S. production company Endeavor Content and secured a $7 million investment from Paramount in Tving as part of a global strategic partnership with the company.
Tving plans to launch direct services in Japan and Taiwan this year and in the U.S. next year to meet the rising demand for Korean content across the world. The company's service will be available in about 10 countries in North America and Europe in the near future.
"This investment is an acknowledgement of Tvin's high growth potential and the competitiveness of its differentiated original content," CJ ENM said in a statement. "We will hurry to launch it as a global platform by strengthening partnerships with foreign and domestic companies as well as through aggressive investment expansion."
Another local streamer Watcha, which launched its service in Japan in 2020, is eying expansion into foreign markets.
"Starting with Japan, we will expand our service into the global market to reach 100 million subscribers by 2030," Watcha CEO Park Tae-hoon said in a media event held on Feb. 22.
"We originally considered making inroads into Asian countries, especially Southeast Asian countries, because there is robust demand for K-content. But after seeing the success of 'Squid Game' and 'Minari,' we found out that there is a surge in demand in other parts of the world too. We are confident in leveraging the value of K-content and making it globally sustainable."
Tving's drama series "Work Later, Drink Now," "Monstrous" and Watcha's "Damn Good Company" were invited to be screened at the Cannes International Series Festival Season 5's non-competition section of Korea fiction on April 6.
Korean BL drama "Semantic Error," which is streamed via Watcha, topped the list of popular OTT content in Korea for the second week of March and has been enjoying high popularity in foreign markets, including China, Japan, Vietnam and Spain.
Wavve, a homegrown service run by broadcasters KBS, SBS and MBC and mobile carrier SK Telecom, plans to make inroads into Southeast Asia, U.S. and European markets in the near future.
It has set out aggressive plans to secure 5 million subscribers by 2023. To gain a competitive edge over others, it has partnered with HBO, NBCU, CBS and several other content providers to offer some of the best foreign TV series. It boasts not only American and British series, but a lineup of Asian dramas, including Chinese dramas.
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