‘Hetban War’ ‘Beauty War’ Followed by ‘OTT Battle’ Coupang, CJ Launch Full-Scale Battle

Coupang Play Rises to No.1 Korean OTT After 3 Years
Coupang 'Wow Membership' Customers Get Bonus Access
Attracting Viewers with Powerful Sports Content

The next battleground between CJ and Coupang, who have been engaged in the 'Hetbahn War' and the 'Beauty War,' was OTT (Over-The-Top online video service). Coupang Play, Coupang's OTT service, caused a seismic shift in the industry by becoming the first domestic OTT to rank first in monthly MAU (monthly active users) since its launch. Coupang has even established its own entertainment company, embarking on building a value chain encompassing both management and platform.

On the 3rd of last month, at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium, during the 'Coupang Play Series Game 3' between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and K League 1 Jeonbuk Hyundai, PSG's Lee Kang-in is greeting fans after the match. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Coupang has been locked in a power struggle with CJ CheilJedang over supply prices for Hetbahn and other products since last year. Some products, such as instant rice, are not available on Coupang at all. This is the so-called 'Hetbahn War.' Recently, Coupang entered the offline beauty market, leading to a 'Beauty War' when CJ Olive Young, a dominant player in the industry, reported Coupang to the Fair Trade Commission, accusing it of "interfering with transactions with other distributors." With OTT added as another battleground, the two companies are clashing across all business areas.

Coupang Play Attracts Sports Fandom

According to data from the data analysis platform Mobile Index, Coupang Play's monthly MAU last month was 5.62 million, surpassing Tving (5.39 million), a subsidiary of CJ ENM, and Wave (4.39 million), operated by SK Square. Expanding the scope to include foreign platforms, Netflix leads with 11.74 million. Nielsen Korean Click data also shows Coupang Play's MAU at 5.48 million, narrowly ahead of Tving's 5.47 million.

Tving had been the undisputed number one domestic OTT since its merger with Season in December last year. Coupang Play, which started as a latecomer in 2020, caught up with its 'seniors' in three years by leveraging its 11 million subscribers of the 'Wow Membership' and bold investments in sports content. Tving launched its service in 2010, and Wave in 2019. The Wow Membership is a service that, for a monthly fee of 4,990 KRW, offers not only Coupang's Rocket Delivery but also access to Coupang Play. It is a kind of 'bundling sale.'

The 'Coupang Play Series,' which invites 'big clubs' like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain to play matches, has been hugely popular, attracting a large number of sports fans. It holds a diverse lineup of football broadcasts, including top-tier domestic and international professional leagues such as Spain, France, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, the K League, and even the English second division. It also secures sports content rarely seen domestically, such as F1, NFL (National Football League), and NHL (North American Ice Hockey League).

Leadership Clash of the 1980s Generation

Coupang subsidiary CP Entertainment's first exclusive artist, Shin Dong-yeop (Photo by CP Entertainment)

On the 4th, Coupang established a subsidiary called CP Entertainment. Its first signed artist is Shin Dong-yup, who appears on Coupang Play's flagship program SNL Korea. With this, Coupang now owns both management and platform businesses, resembling CJ ENM, which manages multiple management companies. Coupang Play is also strengthening its organization, recently adding experts from Netflix and Meta. Coupang Chairman Kim Beom-seok promised investment in Coupang Play during the Q2 earnings announcement.

The driving force behind Coupang Play's rapid growth is CEO Kim Seong-han, born in 1987. Having worked at Kim & Chang, NCSoft, NHN, and Korbit before joining Coupang in 2016, he is praised for his bulldozer-like fast decision-making that expanded market influence. He is nicknamed 'Kim Beom-seok's adopted son.' A young CEO rivalry has also formed with Tving, whose new CEO, Choi Ju-hee, born in 1982, took the helm in July. She has built her career in IT and marketing at BCG, Walt Disney Korea, W Concept, and Trenbe.

CJ ENM, Tving's parent company, is also focusing on OTT as a key growth area this year, so competition in OTT is expected to intensify further. Tving is increasing investments not only in original drama content but also in sports content, which is Coupang Play's main strength. For example, all matches of Germany's Bayern Munich, which has attracted attention due to the transfer of national football player Kim Min-jae, can be watched on Tving, along with live broadcasts of all domestic professional baseball games. CJ ENM plans to maximize platform synergy by co-programming with its owned broadcast channels.