Delivered Keynote Speech at the '2022 Chasedae Media Week' Event
[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] Yang Ji-eul, CEO of TVING, pointed out at the '2022 Next-Generation Media Week' event hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 1st that the Korean online video service (OTT) market is at about half the level of the U.S., indicating there is room for growth.
In his keynote speech that day, CEO Yang said, "Currently, 36% of Korean households, or 7.12 million households, subscribe to paid OTT services," adding, "Compared to 83% in the U.S., it is a lower level, so it is difficult to make a direct horizontal comparison, but I think we have only reached about half the level so far."
CEO Yang stated, "Our competitiveness lies in K-content," and added, "Although the countries watching K-content may appear to be stagnant overall, since the trend of Korean content consumption is just beginning, I believe it will grow several times larger."
He cited K-content and understanding of customers as advantages that Korean OTTs, including TVING, have over global OTTs. Conversely, he pointed out economies of scale, technical personnel, and long-term vision as weaknesses.
CEO Yang said, "When looking at K-content as a collective competitive advantage, we are naturally superior," but also noted, "However, while overseas companies deploy about 10,000 engineers to stabilize their services, in Korea, only a few hundred at most are involved." This is a background factor that inevitably causes differences in the development speed of AI-based personalized recommendation algorithms, one of the core technologies of OTT.
He also emphasized that long-term investment is necessary for company growth. CEO Yang pointed out, "Major U.S. OTT companies took nine years to escape deficits," adding, "One music streaming company took 15 years, and another social networking service (SNS) company took six years." This means that investors' long-term vision was important until various companies succeeded.
He also argued that the challenges for Korean OTTs lie in investing in personnel and strengthening their advantages. An example is the partnership efforts pursued by TVING. Since its establishment as an independent corporation in October 2020, TVING formed a partnership with Naver in March 2021, and in June this year, partnered with Paramount Plus (+) to launch a brand channel. In July, it released bundled products with telecom companies such as KT and LG Uplus, and is scheduled to officially merge with KT-affiliated Season in December this year.
CEO Yang emphasized, "Instead of individual companies monopolizing, if companies that excel in each field come together to form partnerships, they can reach their goals much faster and more safely," adding, "However, such partnerships require a serial-type structure rather than a parallel one so that decision-making can be fast and concise."
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