'International OTT Festival' Held... The Glory and Moving Named Contents of the Year

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the 'International OTT Festival' will be held in Busan from the 7th to the 8th.

This event is organized to widely promote Korea's excellent Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms and content worldwide while providing opportunities to attract investment. Domestic OTTs such as TVING, Wavve, and Coupang Play, as well as overseas OTT companies including Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+ from the U.S., U-NEXT from Japan, iQIYI from China, Viu from Hong Kong, and 1001tv from the United Arab Emirates, will participate.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and Busan City, and organized by the Busan International Film Festival and the Korea Radio Promotion Association, the festival will be held on the first weekend of the Busan International Film Festival under the theme "Over The Top, Over The World," symbolizing OTT's growth as a global media market hub expanding worldwide.

The event features ▲ the ‘International OTT Awards’ recognizing outstanding OTTs and content worldwide, ▲ an ‘Investment Attraction Showcase’ matching domestic and international OTT platforms, investors, and partners while discovering excellent domestic IPs, ▲ ‘K-OTT Night’ for networking among domestic and foreign OTT stakeholders, and ▲ ‘OTT Screenings (On Screen),’ organized by the Busan International Film Festival, showcasing unreleased new works from major OTTs.

The International OTT Awards will present awards in a total of 17 categories with about 20 works, including 10 competitive categories and 7 invited categories. In the 10 competitive categories such as Best Digital VFX (Visual Effects), Best OTT Original, Best Creative, and Actor Award, 215 entries from 18 countries were submitted. K-content titles nominated include Netflix’s "The Glory," "Physical 100," "D.P.2," Disney+’s "Moving," "Casino," Wavve’s "Weak Hero 1," "Bloody Game 2," TVING’s "Food Chronicle," "Our Game: LG Twins," and Coupang Play’s "SNL Korea Seasons 3 & 4."

The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on the Busan International Film Festival YouTube channel and can also be viewed in real-time through 'LG Channel' installed on LG Electronics smart TVs.

On the first day of the Investment Attraction Showcase, seven major domestic and international OTT companies including TVING, Wavve, Paramount+, iQIYI, Viu, U-NEXT, and 1001tv will share business trends such as strategies, key content, and customer services. On the second day, domestic producers and creators will pitch scenarios and project plans, providing opportunities for co-production, investment attraction, and pre-sales with major OTTs and investors.

K-OTT Night will feature promotional zones for domestic OTTs such as TVING, Wavve, Watcha, and Coupang Play, promoting their new content. It will also offer free exchange opportunities with overseas OTTs and buyers. The 'On Screen' OTT screenings held during the Busan International Film Festival will showcase six upcoming domestic and international OTT premieres.

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "We hope that the inaugural International OTT Festival will grow into a world-class event representing OTT." They added, "Through this event, we will innovate laws and systems and provide systematic support so that Korea’s OTT and content can expand globally and develop into a global media powerhouse that exchanges freely with countries around the world."