Netflix’s warfare chest for South Korean content material simply swelled by $2.5 billion.
In an announcement yesterday (April 24), Netflix mentioned it could double the funding it has made because it entered the Republic of Korea in 2016 by bankrolling Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi motion drama Okja. The announcement got here after co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Washington DC.
This new tranche of funding will go in the direction of the manufacturing of collection, motion pictures, and selection exhibits, Sarandos mentioned.
With over 60% of Netflix’s 233 million members round the world watching South Korean content material, motion pictures and exhibits from the nation have accomplished wonders for the platform. No shock, then, that amid stiff competitors from Amazon Prime and Disney+, Netflix desires to money in on the recognition. This 12 months, Netflix has deliberate its biggest-ever slate of Korean content material, together with over 20 collection, half a dozen movies, a handful of actuality exhibits, and two documentaries.
One large quantity: Squid Sport’s colossal success
1,650,450,000: The full variety of hours that folks spent glued to the primary season of Squid Sport, making it the most-watched non-English language collection of all time on Netflix. Within the high 10 such exhibits, there are three different Korean collection—the primary seasons of All of Us Are Lifeless, The Glory, and Extraordinary Legal professional Woo—that racked up nearly half a billion hours every.
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Quotable: International audiences love Korean Netflix exhibits
“It’s unimaginable that the love in the direction of Korean exhibits has led to a wider curiosity in Korea, because of the Korean creators’ compelling tales. Their tales are actually on the coronary heart of the worldwide cultural zeitgeist.”
—Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos
Present of curiosity: Bodily 100
It’s not simply Ok-dramas which can be taking the world by storm. There’s Bodily 100, a actuality present that brings collectively 100 of South Korea’s finest athletes from throughout disciplines, from jail guards to health influencers, to compete for the popularity of posessing the most spectacular physique. It’s the first actuality collection to high the weekly charts of the most-watched non-English language exhibits on Netflix. The present obtained a lift when Jungkook, a BTS member, livestreamed it.
Rabbit gap: Netflix’s progress plans past beefing up its content material slate
Investing in content material is only one approach to lure extra viewers. Netflix is attempting numerous different issues to spice up its subscriber base
📮 Netflix launched the $6.99-per-month ad-supported tier in November 2022. Thus far, it’s been provided in only a dozen nations out of the 190-plus territories the place Netflix is out there.
✂️ Netflix slashed its costs in February by between 20% and 60% in 30 nations.
🔑 Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing is selecting up slowly however absolutely. It will probably increase to the US—Netflix’s greatest market—by June.
Charted: South Korea’s booming cultural exports
In 2021, South Korea’s exports of cultural content material—music, video games, movies, animation, and extra—hit an all-time excessive of $12.4 billion, in response to the nation’s ministry of tradition, sports activities and tourism.
For South Korea, culture has grow to be an financial power to reckon with, surpassing the export worth of dwelling home equipment ($8.67 billion), secondary batteries ($8.67 billion), electrical autos ($6.99 billion) and show panels ($3.6 billion), in response to ministry information.
The South Korean authorities is aiming to greater than double content material exports, to $25 billion by 2027. Film and drama producers will get monetary and infrastructural assist from the federal government. As an illustration, Studio Dice in Daejeon, the place Squid Sport was filmed, might be geared up with underwater cinematographic services. Individually, the ministry will present coaching to 10,000 potential content material creators throughout the nation over the subsequent three years. Apart from state reserves, the federal government may even lean on world capital from international buyers.
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