‘Snowdrop,’ ‘Rookie Cops’ Help Disney Plus Join Top Five Streamers in Korea – Study

variety.com:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe South Korean streaming market is consolidating around five major players as it also emerges as a hub for premium local content.New research by consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and its AMPD Research platform show that the country boasted 14.1 million premium video streaming subscriptions at the end of 2021 and that usage of premium platforms accounted for a growing share of total viewing time.SVOD leaders Netflix, Wavve, TVing, Coupang Play and Disney+ captured an aggregate 85% share of SVOD subscriptions in Korea and 83% of SVOD streaming minutes.“Within Korea, nearly 70% of premium video consumption is driven by Korean dramas, movies and variety shows, while U.S.

series and movies capture 14%,” said Vivek Couto, MPA’s executive director. “With five major brands driving SVOD and investing heavily in local content, the entry of new tier 1 SVOD platforms is expected to be challenging unless integrated with existing players [such as Paramount’s pact with TVing] or new disruptive strategies are introduced to take market share from incumbents.” MPA’s data showed that Netflix accounted for 33% of the 14.1 million SVOD subscriptions in Korea, ahead of Wavve with 19% and Tving with 18%.

Coupang Play, which is bundled with the Coupang home shopping service, accounted for 8% and newly launched Disney+ 7%.In terms of minutes watched during the fourth quarter of 2021, the numbers were similar: Netflix 36%, Wavve 21%, TVing 16%, Coupang Play 8% and Disney+ 2%.

Over half of consumption on Netflix is driven by Korean content, while US content captures 25%. Korea remains strategically important to Netflix.