South Korea’s subscription video market grew by more than 700,000 in the third quarter to more than 19 million, according to new research from research and consulting firm Media Partners Asia.
The firm’s report, ‘Online Video in Korea’, shows that Disney+ was the fastest growing platform in the period, driven by its hit Korean-produced series ‘Moving’. The company now has around two million subscribers in the country, although it still trails market leaders Netflix and Tving.
Netflix maintained its category leadership with robust growth, capturing 29% of new subscriptions in Q3 2023 to reach 6.5 million subscriptions and 35% of premium VOD viewers. Tving (3.8 million and 26% of premium viewers) and Wavve (3.0 million and 20% of premium viewers) followed.
MPA measures viewer activity through its subsidiary MPDA, which has an embedded passive measurement system deployed across users’ TVs, VOD services and digital devices.
“Deepening engagement with Disney+ and Tving, along with robust subscriber growth, boosted premium VOD viewership in Korea in the third quarter. The SVOD leaders continue to add subscribers on the back of strong local content pipelines and an abundance of drama and variety releases; Tving’s popular reality hits tap into large network audiences, such as tvN’s ‘Earth Arcade’, while Disney+ had its first major original hit with ‘Moving’. Tving and Netflix lead the way in the number of exclusive local titles and, together with Wavve, captured 80% of Korea’s premium VOD audience in the third quarter of 2023,” said Vivek Couto, Managing Partner, MPA.
Tving and Wavve are in talks that could lead to a merger or acquisition. Observers suggest that the two companies lack scale and would aim to catch Netflix by combining forces.
MPA figures show that Tving has 20% of subscriptions in Korea and Wavve has 16%, giving a combined 36% if there is no overlap.
The combined operation could have a bigger lead in terms of viewership. MPA data shows that Tving accounts for 26% of time spent watching premium video and Wavve 20%, compared to Netflix’s 36%.
No deal has been finalised and no timetable for the merger has been announced. Nor is regulatory approval a foregone conclusion.
