(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans spent a record high on Netflix last month, data showed Thursday, highlighting the video streaming giant’s popularity in the country despite a recent hike in subscription fees.
Local credit and debit card payments on the video streaming platform reached 82.6 billion won (US$69 million) in January, the highest-ever monthly figure, compared with 74.5 billion won the previous month, according to the data from industry tracker WiseApp.
WiseApp said an estimated 5.28 million South Koreans made payments to Netflix last month, up 10.7 percent from December.
The data tracker added that the data excludes other payment methods, such as those through telecom operators.
The number of people making payments to Netflix initially retreated to 4.77 million in December, compared to 5.07 million the previous month, after the video streaming platform raised its monthly subscription fees for the first time in South Korea since 2016.
WiseApp said the 30s age group accounted for the largest share of paid users at 29 percent, followed by those in their 20s at 27 percent.
In November, Netflix’s premium plan jumped to 17,000 won, up 17.2 percent from 14,500 won. The standard plan also rose 12.5 percent to 13,500 won, while the basic plan remained unchanged at 9,500 won.
(Yonhap)
