Fair Trade Commission Approves Corporate Merger... Second Largest Market Position After Netflix
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The government approved the merger of domestic online video services (OTT) Tving and Season on the 31st, paving the way for the emergence of a new leading native OTT operator. On the 31st, the Korea Fair Trade Commission announced that it approved the business combination in which Tving absorbs KT Season.
The Fair Trade Commission judged through its review that there are no concerns about subscription fee increases, OTT competitors not receiving proper content supply, or other content providers being blocked from sales channels. It also anticipated that high-quality content investment would increase, improving OTT subscribers' welfare, and that active competition with existing top market players such as Netflix and Wavve would strengthen industry competitiveness.
With the Fair Trade Commission’s business combination review results announced on this day, the merger between Tving and Season is expected to proceed smoothly. The merger date is set for December 1. Season will terminate its service a day earlier, on November 30.
The two companies announced the merger in July. The merger will be conducted by Tving absorbing KT Season, with KT Studio Genie, which holds 100% of KT Season’s shares, acquiring shares in the merged entity to secure the position of the third-largest shareholder.
Emerging as the No. 1 Native OTT Operator... Solidifying 2nd Place Behind Netflix
Once the merged entity of Tving and Season is established, it will instantly become the second-largest OTT operator in Korea after Netflix. Among native OTTs, it will be the top operator.
The market share of paid subscription OTT services is led by Netflix at 38.22%. Wavve follows in second place with 14.37%, Tving is third with 13.07%, and Season ranks sixth with 4.98%. Combining Tving and Season’s shares results in 18.05%, which does not surpass Netflix but exceeds Wavve.
According to the big data analytics platform Mobile Index, as of September, Tving’s monthly active users (MAU) numbered 4.18 million. Season’s MAU was 1.29 million, totaling 5.47 million for both OTTs combined. This is about half of Netflix’s 11.58 million but significantly widens the gap with Wavve’s 4.13 million.
The merger of Tving and Season is expected to realize economies of scale and generate strong synergy effects. Amid fierce competition in original content investment in the OTT industry, Tving announced plans to invest 200 billion KRW this year alone, and KT Studio Genie pledged over 400 billion KRW over three years. The combined platforms will be able to reduce content production and acquisition costs as well as marketing expenses. Tving, preparing for overseas expansion to Taiwan, Japan, and other markets, can strengthen platform competitiveness by securing KT Studio Genie content, known for hits like "Extraordinary Attorney Woo."
With KT as a partner, various bundled subscription plans are anticipated. In July, KT launched the "Tving/Genie Choice" plan, allowing unlimited data use for Tving. Starting next year, the Tving app will be installed on KT’s internet TV (IPTV) Genie TV. Bundled plans with KT, the leading paid broadcasting operator, can be launched, and pre-installing Tving as a default app on KT smartphones is also under consideration. KT can enhance its telecommunications competitiveness through service differentiation.
Furthermore, KT will focus on content production and intellectual property (IP) acquisition through KT Studio Genie while strengthening the media value chain, gaining a powerful OTT platform ally. Tving’s global expansion will also secure a stable global distribution channel. A Tving official stated, "We will make thorough preparations for the remaining merger process with KT Season."
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