SVOD Growth Slows in South Korea

South Korea added just 600,000 new SVOD subscriptions in the first quarter to reach 14.7 million customers, per new data from Media Partners Asia (MPA), down from the 1.7 million added in Q4 2021.

South Korea Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics indicates that five major players—Netflix, Wavve, Tving, Coupang Play and Disney+—accounted for 86 percent of that 14.7 million subs base and 83 percent of all premium video consumption. By genre, meanwhile, Korean dramas are out front with 48 percent of consumption, followed by domestic variety and reality (23 percent) and then U.S. series in third place at 8 percent.

“At nearly 15 million paid SVOD subscriptions and 5 major brands investing heavily in local content, the Korean SVOD industry remains healthy and competitive, though growth slowed considerably in Q1,” said Vivek Couto, executive director of MPA.“In a post-pandemic environment, Korean consumers were drawn to linear television in Q1 to catch major events like the Winter Olympics in February and coverage of a close Korean Presidential Election in March. Consumers also returned to theaters in late-Q1 to Q2, contributing to a slower quarter for SVOD. Netflix, Wavve, Tving and Disney each had notable local original hits in Q1, while Coupang Play leveraged key local and American football matches.”