[K Changers]⑭ New ID Spreading K-Content to Living Rooms Worldwide

Asia's Largest FAST Operator New ID
Started from Scratch... Operating 164 Channels
Extending Content Lifespan Is Corporate Philosophy

There is a company that has deeply penetrated the daily lives of people worldwide with K-content. That company is ‘New ID,’ which has secured a gateway for accessing K-content on TVs in living rooms. As Asia's largest FAST operator, New ID distributes K-content to 100 million households worldwide through over 160 FAST channels. FAST (Free ad-supported streaming television) is an ad-supported free streaming service. The combined monthly viewing time across all New ID channels reaches 8 million hours. It broadcasts everything related to K-content 24/7, including music, dramas, movies, mukbang, and live news.

Park Jun-kyung, CEO of New ID (right), and Kim Jo-han, Director (Photo by New ID)

New ID is the first in-house venture company of the content media group Next Entertainment World (NEW). Among Asian FAST operators, it runs the most platforms (29) and the most channels (164). It can be watched for free as long as there is an internet-connected TV. It is especially popular in North America, where paid broadcasting is more than five times more expensive than in Korea. In North America, 70% of households watch FAST. The FAST advertising market size was $3.9 billion (about 5 trillion KRW) last year.

New ID received the ‘Export Tower’ award at last year’s Trade Day ceremony, recognizing its achievement in expanding the digital distribution network of K-content. NEW, famous as a film distributor for movies like ‘Train to Busan’ and ‘The Attorney,’ has expanded its business into digital distribution through New ID, following drama production, music distribution, and rights distribution. NEW’s sales last year were 155.6 billion KRW, with an operating profit of 7.2 billion KRW, growing 10% and 320% respectively compared to the previous year.

Helping K-content Travel the World

New ID compares K-content distribution to immigration inspection. Just as we need a passport stamp to travel abroad, K-content must go through localization processes to be distributed overseas. This includes creating subtitles in the local language and conducting internal review procedures for copyright-sensitive elements such as product placements (PPL) and music. The post-production process?a term in the production industry referring to all production work after filming is completed?is likened to getting a passport stamp.

New ID sources content not only from NEW’s own content but also from CPs (Content Providers) and PPs (Broadcast Channel Operators). In K-pop, partners include YG and SM, and The Pinkfong Company, known for the popular ‘Baby Shark’ in North America, also collaborates with New ID. The collected content is then modified to meet the specifications of each platform, acting as a kind of bridge. Advertising revenue earned through operating FAST channels is shared with content partners.

‘The Fantastic Duo’ Who Created Something from Nothing

Main operating channel of New ID (Photo by New ID)

The FAST business is still in its infancy in Korea. When New ID was launched in 2019, there were hardly any domestic cases to refer to or networks with overseas platforms. New ID’s co-founders, CEO Park Jun-kyung and Director Kim Jo-han, confirmed the potential of the FAST business through a business trip to the world’s largest broadcasting equipment exhibition, the ‘NAB SHOW,’ and jumped into the market. At that time, local participants even said, “It’s the first time we’ve seen Koreans,” as Korea was a ‘minor player’ in the FAST business.

CEO Park is a marketing expert who previously led NEW’s film business division, while Director Kim is a platform expert with experience at SK Broadband and LG Electronics. They joined forces, each with a strong understanding of content and platforms. They expanded the business through trial and error. While recruiting domestic content providers, they secured contracts by exchanging numerous emails with overseas platform business managers. Since face-to-face meetings were difficult during the COVID-19 period, business meetings were mainly held via Zoom video conferencing.

Starting in 2020 with the opening of the first K-pop channel on XUMO, a Comcast-affiliated top cable operator in the U.S., New ID has consecutively signed contracts with major FAST platforms worldwide, including Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, Amazon Freevee, Roku, Paramount Global’s Pluto TV, and Fox’s Tubi. It is now a notable player in the FAST market. The U.S. film industry media ‘Variety’ listed 50 companies to know if you want to understand the FAST business, and among them, only two Korean companies were included: New ID and Samsung TV Plus.

Making This Year a Year of Quality Transformation

Having achieved quantitative growth, New ID is focusing on qualitative growth this year. Based on 13 billion KRW in investments raised last year from Korea Investment Partners, IBK Investment & Securities, and others, it plans to strengthen its foundation. It is accelerating technology development in various fields such as content streaming, AI (artificial intelligence) media solutions, and the use of big data on viewership. This is a stepping stone to ultimately maximize profits.

In the second half of the year, New ID plans to launch its own FAST platform. Rather than just supplying channels to platforms, it aims to build an independent distribution network. The platform will be dedicated solely to K-content. This move aligns with New ID’s corporate philosophy of extending the lifespan and distribution period of content. The more diverse the distribution networks, the longer and more widely good content can be loved by many people.

Park Jun-kyung, CEO of New ID, said, “If we have achieved quantitative growth so far, from now on, based on viewer data from North and South America, Europe, and Asia, we will pursue qualitative growth based on content demand.”