Wave, with 2 Million Users Plummeting, Finally Launches 'Bomb Sale' on Subscriptions

Free Use for 5 Months Out of 12
Struggling Amid Sharp Decline in Recent Users

Wavve, a leading domestic online video service (OTT), has launched a subscription discount promotion until the end of the year.

On the 21st, Wavve announced that it will offer a 41% discount on annual subscriptions until the 31st. The discounted prices are ▲Basic (1 device) regular price 94,800 KRW → discounted price 55,500 KRW ▲Standard (2 devices) 130,800 KRW → 77,000 KRW ▲Premium (4 devices) 166,800 KRW → 99,000 KRW. Calculated on a monthly average, this means a discount of about 4,000 KRW per month, effectively allowing users to use the service for free for 5 months out of 12.

Wave Year-End Promotion

Once considered a competitor to Netflix and showing remarkable progress as a native OTT, Wavve has recently shown sluggish performance. Due to the absence of original content and public opinion that there is "nothing to watch," the monthly user base has dropped by 2 million over the past year.

Most of Wavve’s content consists of reruns of terrestrial TV dramas. Moreover, this year, there has been no original content such as movies or dramas, making it stand out unfavorably compared to other OTTs like TVING and Netflix, which continue to enjoy success with their original content. Although the original series 'Blood Game 3' performed well by ranking first in the TV-OTT integrated non-drama category for two consecutive weeks (Good Data Corporation) in terms of buzz, it was not enough to turn the tide.

Wavve’s current monthly user count is in the 4 million range, down from over 6 million at one point. This is significantly lower than Netflix’s 11 million and TVING and Coupang Play’s 7 million users. To make matters worse, Wavve has accumulated losses of 200 billion KRW over two years, leading to a significant reduction in content investment.

Wavve is attempting to find a breakthrough by pursuing a merger with TVING, but is facing difficulties due to opposition from KT, one of TVING’s major shareholders. Wavve plans to release popular broadcast hits such as 'Miss Granny' and 'Check-in Hanyang,' and on the 24th, it will premiere the 10-episode thriller 'Day of the Jackal' for the first time in Korea. 'Day of the Jackal' is based on the novel of the same name by British author Frederick Forsyth and is a masterpiece nominated for the TV Drama category at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards on January 5 next year.