Netflix, Disney+, TVing and Others Raise Prices One After Another
Some Customers Shift to Nunutivi and Similar Sites
Illegal Sites Are Practically Difficult to Block
As online video services (OTT) continue to raise their prices one after another, 'streamflation' is becoming a reality. Streamflation is a portmanteau of streaming and inflation. Consumers who feel burdened by the increased prices are turning to a second Nunutv. Nunutv is a site that illegally streamed content from domestic and international OTT platforms for about a year before being shut down. It is known as the epitome of illegal OTT.
Latest OTT content such as "The Worst Evil" is being openly distributed on illegal sites. [Photo by Walt Disney Korea]
Netflix recently posted a notice on its homepage stating that it will charge an additional fee for account sharing. If you want to share an account with someone who is not part of the same household, you must pay an additional 5,000 KRW per person. For example, if you want to use the Premium membership (17,000 KRW per month) with two friends, you have to pay 27,000 KRW, which is about 9,000 KRW per person. For those who used to share accounts, the price burden has roughly doubled compared to before.
Netflix has been implementing this paid account sharing policy in other countries since last year. It is already applied in over 100 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Now, South Korea has been added to the list. Thanks to this, earnings growth is accelerating. Netflix posted an operating profit of $1.916 billion (about 2.5 trillion KRW) in the third quarter, a 25% increase compared to the same period last year.
Disney Plus also effectively raised prices by restructuring its subscription plans. The previous single plan at 9,900 KRW per month was divided into two plans: Standard (9,900 KRW per month) and Premium (13,900 KRW per month). To enjoy four simultaneous streams and high-quality 4K content, which were available under the previous single plan, users must subscribe to the Premium plan. Domestic OTT platforms have also raised prices. Tving plans to increase monthly fees by 1,600 KRW to 3,100 KRW for new subscribers starting next month, depending on the plan.
Some consumers who feel burdened by the price increases are turning to a second Nunutv. According to data from the U.S. data analytics company Similarweb, the cumulative number of visitors to the illegal streaming site 'TiOOO' has reached 3.5 million. This site emerged in June after Nunutv was shut down by government crackdown and is a similar site. It is estimated that at least five or more illegal sites are operating actively, not just this one.
The government has established a copyright crime forensic investigation unit and is also promoting the development of technology that can track illegal sites using artificial intelligence (AI). However, it is currently difficult to immediately stop the distribution of illegal content that is openly active. Illegal sites continue to operate in an intelligent manner by guiding members on how to bypass blocks using VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) even if the sites are blocked. Some say that the biggest beneficiaries of OTT price increases are illegal sites.
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