Netflix CEO's Love for 'Ojingeo Game'... Wearing Green Tracksuit in 3Q Conference Call

Lead Hastings Co-CEO
Appears Wearing Gym Uniform from 'Ojingeo Game' in Q3 Earnings Interview

Reed Hastings, co-CEO of Netflix, appeared wearing the green tracksuit from "Squid Game" during Netflix's Q3 earnings conference call in the form of an "earnings interview" on the 19th (local time). Photo by Netflix Q3 earnings interview video capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Reed Hastings, co-CEO of Netflix, the world's largest global online video streaming service (OTT), made a surprise appearance dressed in the green tracksuit from the drama Ojingeo Geim (Squid Game) during Netflix's Q3 conference call.

During the Q3 conference call held on the 19th (local time) in the form of an 'earnings interview,' Hastings said, "Streaming services are developing at an incredible speed across all kinds of devices and in a growing market," adding, "In the competition that helps market growth, we have a massive content entertainment portfolio."

He emphasized, "The way we set things up is like the amazing Ojingeo Geim," and "The most remarkable part is the system built by Ted Sarandos, Netflix's co-CEO and Chief Content Officer (CCO)." He also applauded Kim Min-young, Netflix Asia-Pacific (excluding India) Head of Content and VP, who is in charge of the Korean region.

On this day, CEO Hastings once again showcased the green tracksuit from Ojingeo Geim, which had become a hot topic last month after being uploaded as a certified photo on Netflix's official Instagram.

According to Netflix, since its release on September 17, Ojingeo Geim has been watched by approximately 142 million households worldwide over four weeks. Parody videos such as "Saturday Night Live (SNL)" and various TikTok memes and clips have amassed over 42 billion views in total. Previously, on the content ranking site FlixPatrol, Ojingeo Geim ranked first in the 'TV Program (Show)' category in 76 out of 83 countries worldwide and became the first Korean drama to top the U.S. Netflix 'Top 10 Today' chart.

In the shareholder letter released that day, Netflix stated, "There is no better example than Ojingeo Geim, a Korean story that captures the zeitgeist of the world following Korea," and evaluated, "This program, released on September 17, has become our biggest TV show."

Paid subscribers increased by approximately 4.4 million accounts in Q3, significantly exceeding Wall Street's forecast of 3.84 million accounts. The total cumulative paid membership reached 214 million accounts. By region, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region contributed the most with an increase of 2.2 million paid subscribers. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, which saw a large increase in Q2, also added 1.8 million accounts.

Netflix is also actively exploring ways to produce secondary creations such as merchandise using content intellectual property (IP). In addition to major retailers like Walmart, Netflix plans to partner with various outlets to sell products.