YouTube Channel Korea's First Listed Project Fails
"Subscriber-Focused... No Income Beyond Ads"
The listing of Eve Broadcasting, the operator of the YouTube channel SamproTV, on the KOSDAQ market has fallen through.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 29th, the KOSDAQ Market Listing Committee of the Korea Exchange decided not to approve Eve Broadcasting's listing on that day.
Kim Dong-hwan, CEO of Eve Broadcasting, appeared before the listing committee and expressed his opinion on the necessity of the listing, but he could not overturn the committee members' decision.
The listing committee reportedly raised doubts about whether the business model of the YouTube platform SamproTV can continuously generate sales and operating profits.
This is similar to the reason the exchange did not approve the tax platform SamzzemSam. At that time, the exchange pointed out that if the National Tax Service and others started free refund services, SamzzemSam's business model could be threatened.
SamproTV saw an increase in subscribers and a significant rise in sales and operating profits following the stock investment boom after the spread of COVID-19 in 2020. However, although it recorded sales of 28.1 billion KRW and operating profit of 7.6 billion KRW in 2022, it has no clear revenue sources other than advertising, and recently, the subscriber growth rate has not been as strong as before.
SamproTV has 2.37 million subscribers, which is fewer than another economic YouTuber, ShukaWorld, who has 3.04 million subscribers. According to Korea Economic Daily, an IB industry insider explained, "There are more than 800 YouTube channels in Korea with over 1 million subscribers," adding, "There are quite a few domestic YouTubers with more subscribers than SamproTV, making it difficult to have distinctiveness."
If Eve Broadcasting appeals the non-approval decision, it can request a re-examination by the KOSDAQ Market Committee, but it is known that cases where re-examination is requested or the decision is overturned are extremely rare.
With the failure of the first domestic YouTube channel listing attempt, other major YouTubers and online broadcasters considering listing are expected to face inevitable repercussions.
In July last year, Eve Broadcasting submitted a preliminary review application for listing on the KOSDAQ market through a merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). This decision was made about seven months after the process began. NH Investment & Securities served as the lead underwriter.
The exchange reportedly delayed the review of SamproTV for seven months, effectively recommending voluntary withdrawal. However, SamproTV received an investment valuing the company at 300 billion KRW from venture capitalists (VCs) such as IMM Investment in 2022, so it is not in a position to easily back down. SamproTV and its investors need to recover their investment through KOSDAQ market listing or share sales.
Meanwhile, the largest shareholder of SamproTV is CEO Kim Dong-hwan, who holds 32.74% of the shares. Additionally, Lee Jin-woo, Vice CEO of EvePro, and Jung Young-jin of JungPro each hold 14.65% of the shares.
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