"From Passive Viewers to Creators: The Era of Making Your Own Broadcasts"

Kim Youngjong Blablabla CEO
Focus on User Interest-Based Communities, 600,000 Downloads and 80,000 Members

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] "Now is the era of 'hosts' who lead directly, rather than simply 'users' who listen, watch, and use."

Kim Young-jong, CEO of Blabla (photo), stated, "The combination of the radio feature where faces are not visible and Blabla's advantage of broadcasts not being saved allows users to freely create their own broadcasts."

Blabla members can simply open the Blabla app and start broadcasting whenever they want. When they want to chat or have a discussion, they can invite others to join the broadcast. Users who only listened before now become hosts who produce broadcasts as they wish, regardless of time and place.

Blabla is a community-type radio. Unlike existing creator-centered podcasts or live audio services, it focuses on communities based on individual users, topics, and interests. Except for some content such as the self-produced 'Tuesday Audio Theater,' Blabla does not save broadcasts. This means it guarantees the autonomy of broadcasts. However, broadcasts that exceed certain limits are subject to sanctions or removal through user reports and its own system.

CEO Kim introduced, "The MZ generation is a generation that can talk more comfortably with strangers. They want loose relationships where they can speak and leave quickly, but if interested, they also get deeply involved." He added, "They are creating services and content unique to Blabla."

Introduction image of Blabla. [Photo by Blabla]

As of the end of December last year, the Blabla app has been downloaded 600,000 times, and 80,000 people have signed up. Among them, 4,000 are broadcasting. There is 'BlaShow,' where one person can broadcast for one hour, and 'BlaParty,' where multiple people gather for conversation and discussion. Recently, the self-produced program 'Street Voice Fighter,' which showcases vocal talents, has gained popularity.

CEO Kim led HR tasks at Kyunghyang Newspaper and SK Communications and also served as CEO of FreakN, a subsidiary of AfreecaTV. He said, "My experience of starting a company as a Corporate Independent Company (CIC) while working in HR became the capital to start as a platform entrepreneur," and added, "Users who earn meaningful income through Blabla broadcasts are already emerging."

Voice business is becoming competitive as companies exposed to broadcasts request users to conduct internal broadcasts. Blabla's main revenue comes from 100-won star balloons, which listeners sponsor to users, similar to AfreecaTV. They are also exploring additional revenue models such as subscription (regular sponsorship) besides star balloon commissions and advertising.

Blabla was established in June 2020 and currently has 20 employees working to strengthen content. CEO Kim said, "We received seed investments from Kakao Entertainment and SparkLabs, and Series A investments from Hyundai Motor and others, raising a total of 3 billion won in funding, with additional Series A investments underway," and confidently stated, "Through content enhancement, we expect to exceed 100,000 members by February and 300,000 by the end of this year."