Absorbing OTT Subscribers... Uniting Through TVING

Native No.1, Threatening Netflix
Following KT Season Absorption Merger
LG Uplus Plan Partnership
Expanding Investment in Original Content

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Online video service (OTT) TVING is threatening Netflix by building a strong alliance. This time, it is LG Uplus.

TVING Partners with LG Uplus This Time

According to the telecommunications industry on the 25th, TVING launched the ‘TVING Pack’ available to customers subscribed to LG Uplus’s 5G·LTE Premier Regular plans or higher. Customers using the TVING Pack can watch TVING’s original content and popular content from tvN, JTBC, Mnet, and Paramount+ without a monthly fee. Previously, TVING absorbed and merged KT’s OTT Season. Through these collaborations, TVING has opened the door to absorbing telecom subscribers.

After becoming an independent corporation from CJ ENM in October 2020, TVING was joined by Studio LuluLala JoongAng (formerly JTBC Studio), and in June last year, it attracted investment from Naver, which owns various intellectual properties (IPs) including webtoons. This year, TVING became the first in Asia to exclusively supply related content through a partnership with the US-based Paramount.

Securing the Top Spot Among Domestic OTTs

By merging with Season, TVING secured 5.5 million users, surpassing Wavve to become the number one domestic OTT. According to Mobile Index, the monthly active users (MAU) of major domestic OTT applications show that TVING had 4.01 million users in June, an increase of about 300,000 from May’s 3.81 million. Compared to the same period last year (3.15 million), it recorded a net increase of nearly 900,000 users. Season’s monthly active users are around 1.5 million. Combining these, TVING’s user base increased to about 5.5 million, overtaking Wavve (4.23 million) in one fell swoop. The undisputed number one remains Netflix with 11.17 million users, though slightly down from 11.25 million in May.

The opening of the ‘Paramount+ section’ has also had a positive effect. Since the launch of the ‘Paramount+’ brand section, the number of movie content users has more than doubled. Among all movie content, 50% of views were for Paramount+ films. The Paramount+ original drama series ‘Halo,’ based on the game of the same name, attracted male subscribers. The proportion of male paid subscribers contributing to Halo was 79%.

TVING is also expanding investment in original content. Starting with its first original content ‘High School Mystery Club,’ TVING is enhancing competitiveness through original content strategies including ‘Seoul Check-in’ and ‘Yumi’s Cells.’ It is strengthening service technology through live broadcasts of various sports such as soccer, UFC, boxing, tennis, and concerts.

The Remaining Challenge: Turning a Profit

TVING’s primary goal is to turn a profit. Last year, TVING posted a loss of 76.2 billion KRW, an increase from the 6.1 billion KRW loss the previous year. TVING aims to secure 8 million paid subscribers domestically by next year and invest 400 billion KRW to produce about 100 original contents. After building strength in the domestic market, it plans to target the US market next year to grow as a ‘Global K-Content Platform.’ CJ ENM has also acquired Endeavor Content, a global studio, as a content production base in the US.

An OTT industry insider said, "With CJ ENM’s original content production capabilities and collaboration with leading companies, TVING will become the undisputed number one domestically," adding, "Since the competitiveness of K-Content has been proven overseas, OTTs must also take their chances in foreign markets."