Due to the Spread of Novel Coronavirus, 'Contagion' Gains Unexpected Popularity on OTT Platforms

Movie 'Contagion' Image Cut

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), disaster movies themed around epidemics are gaining attention on over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services.

According to Watcha, which operates the domestic OTT service Watcha Play, the content with the largest increase in viewers since the 20th of last month is the movie Contagion. This film first entered the rankings at 58th place in the "Most Watched Content" on Watcha Play on the 22nd of last month, then skyrocketed to 4th place on the 25th, and reached 1st place on the 28th, maintaining the top position to date.

Released in 2011, this movie deals with the spread of an infectious disease and people's reactions. It shows how easily and rapidly an infectious disease can progress in modern society, where global movement and contact among people are frequent.

Disaster movies including Contagion are also popular on other platforms. On Wave, SK Telecom and the three terrestrial broadcasters' integrated OTT service, Contagion ranked first in the most-watched movies from the 27th of last month to the 2nd of this month. According to Wave, the average viewing time of content classified as disaster movies from the 16th to the 28th of last month increased by 403%, and the number of viewers increased by 304% compared to the previous two weeks (1st to 15th).

On KT's OTT service Season, as of the 2nd of this month starting from the 23rd of last month, viewing of Contagion increased 545 times compared to the daily average from October to December last year, and on the internet (IP) TV service Olleh TV, it increased 837 times. The movie The Flu, also themed around infectious diseases, increased 30 times on Season and 45 times on Olleh TV.