Watch Popular OTT for Free on YouTube? ... The Hidden Mutual Growth Behind It

Our School Now and Juvenile Judgment
Popular for Binge-Watching on YouTube
New Collaboration Model Emerges
Sharing Video Revenue and Linking Instead of Copyright Disputes

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] In today's busy modern society, integrated series that allow viewers to binge-watch an entire drama series in just one hour are gaining huge popularity on YouTube. Video original creators, who view YouTube as a 'double-edged sword,' are also seeking win-win models by exploring various revenue models after moving past past copyright disputes.

‘Binge-watching’ Tops Related Search Terms

According to industry sources on the 7th, integrated videos that allow viewers to binge-watch original series from online video services (OTT) like Netflix and full dramas from the three major terrestrial broadcasters in just 20 to 40 minutes are popular on YouTube. When searching for ‘Netflix’ on YouTube, related search terms such as ‘binge-watching’ and ‘review’ also appear. Individual works like Netflix original dramas ‘Now at Our School (Jiwoohak)’ and ‘Juvenile Justice’ are experiencing similar trends.

The reason viewers access these through YouTube is that most content, including OTT, requires paid monthly subscriptions, limiting accessibility. The word-of-mouth effect through YouTube cannot be ignored either. In fact, Jiwoohak ranked first in Netflix's global rankings and was widely recognized domestically through platforms like YouTube. Despite being content restricted to viewers under the age of 19, many watch it easily via YouTube.

YouTube’s Dilemma Between Ads and Content Costs

From the perspective of original video creators, YouTube channels are a ‘double-edged sword.’ While advertising effects such as word-of-mouth are excellent, the revenue generated from video releases flows to the YouTubers and YouTube itself. Therefore, in the past, copyright issues raised the problem of ‘cherry pickers.’ Around 2018, the three major terrestrial broadcasters requested corrections related to copyright violations on YouTube in about 260,000 cases. In some cases, videos from famous movie YouTubers were completely removed.

As content production costs are also increasing exponentially, the concerns of original creators are growing. According to the UK Financial Times, the top eight media companies in the US are estimated to invest at least $115 billion (approximately 136.5 trillion KRW) in OTT businesses this year. Three years ago, Disney Plus (+) set a content investment target of $2 billion for 2024 but recently raised it to over $9 billion.

Emergence of New Revenue Sharing Models

However, unlike in the past, the current trend is evolving from copyright disputes to revenue-sharing methods where original creators share profits from broadcasts. An OTT industry insider said, "Some OTT platforms and terrestrial broadcasters sometimes directly contract with famous review-specialized YouTubers and share part of the revenue," adding, "They officially link to OTT apps through links at the end of videos, and original creators sometimes provide video sources."

There are also cases where excessively illegal videos are posted. This is because the reporting and crackdown systems are still inadequate compared to the speed at which the content market, triggered by OTT competition, is maturing. In particular, YouTube, operated by Google, is relatively free from domestic review under current Korean law as a value-added telecommunications business operator. The three major terrestrial broadcasters and OTT companies are individually responding by directly reporting problematic YouTubers to YouTube without going through the Korea Communications Commission or the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

A Netflix representative explained, "Netflix strives to create a creative ecosystem where high-quality content can be continuously produced through proper payment procedures for creative works," adding, "Illegal distribution of content is very unfortunate news, and we cooperate with various monitoring organizations worldwide to eradicate it."