Tving, the video streaming platform of CJ ENM, Naver and JTBC, was the biggest gainer in a robust first half for streaming in South Korea.
A new report from research and consulting firms AMPD and Media Partners Asia shows the Korean video-on-demand subscription market growing by 705,000 subscribers to 20.8 million by the end of June. Industry revenues rose 11% year-on-year to $922 million. Viewing time increased by 5% to 103 billion minutes.
While Netflix remains the leader in the premium VOD category in Korea, with a 43% revenue share and 37% of viewership, TVving was the biggest winner in the first half.
It enjoyed a third of all net new subscriptions and had a total of 4.2 million subscribers at the end of June. TVing accounted for 30% of premium VOD viewers (up from 24%) and generated 15% of premium VOD revenue. “Tving’s growth is anchored in popular tvN and JTBC network dramas, variety and original films,” the report said. “The introduction of a new ad tier has contributed to user growth over the half year, reaching more than 11.5 million monthly active users.”
In the broader Korean video streaming market (including premium VOD, AVOD, SVOD and live streaming platforms on mobile devices), the market totaled 534 billion viewing minutes in the first six months of 2024, up 24% from a year earlier. YouTube is the overall leader in the VOD category and continues to gain market share, reaching 80% of the total VOD viewership.
“Local content drove 77% of premium VOD category engagement and 75% of customer acquisition [the first half]with major drama and variety hits from Tving, Netflix, Coupang Play and Disney+. An abundance of local drama and variety releases on major VOD platforms is driving viewership, with more than 200 titles contributing to 80% of Korea’s content demand,” said Dhivya T, principal analyst and head of insights at AMPD. “TVving led hits in both scripted and unscripted titles, with 10 of the top 15 titles (7 shared across platforms). Other major platforms include Netflix with seven of the top 15 titles. Disney+ originals
The sports and originals of Coupang Play also made their breakthrough. CJ ENM produced six of the top fifteen titles in the first half of 2024.”
In terms of Korea’s market share for premium VOD viewers, Netflix accounted for 37%. Tving 30%, Wavve 18%, Coupang Play 9%, Disney+ 5%, U+ Mobile and Watcha 1% each, in the first half.