"'Sweet Home' Hits Studio Dragon... Corporate Value Expected to Rise Further"

'Sweet Home' Ranks No.1 in Korea, Enters Top Rankings in Major Countries
"Expecting Domestic Dramas to Expand Global Market Reach"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Studio Dragon is expected to expand its reach into the global market through the success of 'Sweet Home.' As the value of content becomes increasingly important, voices are growing that the corporate value of companies possessing highly competitive content could rise even higher than it is now.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 26th, Studio Dragon's stock price surged about 7% over four trading days since the 21st. As of the 24th, the closing price was 89,100 KRW. It is interpreted that investor sentiment improved after the Netflix original 'Sweet Home,' a 30 billion KRW production by Studio Dragon, was released on the 18th and showed good results. According to related industries, Sweet Home is currently ranked among the top 10 works in over 50 countries worldwide. It is performing well in regions including Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, and it is the first Korean drama to appear on Netflix's U.S. drama rankings.

Other works by Studio Dragon are also performing well. The OCN drama 'The Uncanny Counter' recorded a viewership rating in the 9% range, marking the highest ever for the broadcaster, and tvN's 'Mr. Queen' is showing ratings in the 10% range.

The securities industry is focusing on the Sweet Home effect. It is expected that Studio Dragon's corporate value will rise further through Sweet Home, seeing beyond the simple success of the work to the possibility that Korean dramas can expand their presence in the global market. Hyunji Lee, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "Sweet Home can be seen as opening the gateway to expanding into global regions beyond just a successful work," adding, "Production companies can secure global references to create collaboration opportunities with various online video platform (OTT) operators, and not only new works but also price increases due to the rising value of older works can be expected."

Following Netflix, the domestic launch of 'Disney+' is scheduled for next year, so Studio Dragon's value is expected to increase further. As OTT platforms become more important to consumers based on the content they hold, the importance of content inevitably rises. In Studio Dragon's case, it has demonstrated outstanding production capabilities so far, making it an attractive production company for OTT companies aiming to take the lead in the global market. Dongryun Lee, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "As OTT competition intensifies, the competitiveness of content providers will increase," and added, "Since there are not many domestic companies that have achieved global success through blockbuster productions, Studio Dragon is judged to have a competitive advantage over its competitors."

Collaboration with Naver is also anticipated. Previously, the company announced a capital increase through paid-in capital to exchange shares with Naver for the purpose of securing original intellectual property (IP) and expanding premium content production. After the exchange, the company is expected to present many highly accurate contents by producing content using webtoon IP. The researcher said, "Sweet Home is also a drama based on a Naver webtoon series, and using webtoon IP means utilizing works whose commercial viability has already been verified, which is positive for the company," adding, "Naver Webtoon has about 67 million monthly active users, and the globalization of webtoons will create a virtuous cycle that positively affects the success of dramas in the future."