This photo, provided by SK Broadband Co. on Jan. 25, 2022, shows a screen displaying the company’s PlayZ service that offers access to five over-the-top services.
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s homegrown streaming media service platforms are diversifying from films and drama series towards other services as part of efforts to reinvigorate stagnating growth in subscriber numbers.
Watcha recently launched a webtoon platform Watcha Webtoon service with a focus on differentiation by acquiring exclusive rights for new original content from famous webtoon artists.
Wavve is placing more focus on its music streaming service. It introduced a new service through a partnership with music services FLO and Bugs, aimed at enabling users to enjoy video and music streaming at the same time at a discounted price.
For the nation’s over-the-top (OTT) platforms, the number of subscribers continues on an upward trend, but the pace of growth declined by 20 to 30 percent year on year.
Eventually, providers believe that only comprehensive content platforms that allow users to enjoy a variety of online services at the same time will survive in the fierce competition.
However, there is a fundamental issue that they have to solve – the more diverse the service offerings are, the harder it is to maintain profitability.
The nation’s top three OTT service providers recorded a combined operating loss of about 150 billion won (US$141 million) last year, more than five times higher than a year ago. None of the domestic streaming companies have ever been profitable.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
