120 Million Viewer Mark Collapses After 1 Year and 5 Months
Tving and Coupang Play Catch-Up with Sports Broadcasts
Netflix, which has firmly maintained its position as the absolute leader in the domestic OTT market, is now faltering. As TVING and Coupang Play fiercely chase after exclusive broadcasting rights for sports games, Netflix's user base is sharply declining, narrowing the gap between them.
According to data compiled by the big data analysis platform Mobile Index on the 12th, Netflix's monthly users in March were approximately 11.72 million. Compared to February (about 12.51 million), this represents a decrease of 800,000 users in just one month. Although the monthly user count had fluctuated while maintaining a floor of 12 million, even that threshold has now been broken. This is the first time in 1 year and 5 months since November 2022 (about 11.99 million).
On the other hand, TVING, which secured exclusive wired and wireless broadcasting rights for the KBO League for 135 billion KRW over three years, saw a surge in users in the first quarter of this year due to the Asian Cup and professional baseball broadcasts. TVING's average daily active users (DAU) in the first quarter of this year reached 1.627 million, ranking second behind Netflix. Compared to last year's average of 1.328 million, this is an increase of about 22.5%.
Netflix's DAU recorded 2.835 million, maintaining first place, but compared to last year's average DAU of 3.138 million, it marked a turning point with a downward trend.
Meanwhile, Coupang Play's rapid rise is also fierce. In the first quarter, it reached 973,000 users, a 43% increase compared to last year's average of 680,000. User concentration was especially high during the broadcast of the MLB Seoul Series between the San Diego Padres and the LA Dodgers. The number of viewers on Coupang was more than double the average daily users from last year.
Netflix appears to be defending its position with the latest movies. On the 16th, it will release "Noryang: Sea of Death," which premiered in December last year and attracted 4.57 million viewers. It is unusual for a hit movie to be released on an OTT platform just four months after its theatrical release.
Netflix Services Korea (Netflix Korea) announced on the 12th that it recorded an operating profit of 12 billion KRW last year, a 15.5% decrease compared to the previous year. Netflix Korea is a subsidiary of the Netflix Group that promotes and resells Netflix subscription memberships to domestic members.
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