쿠팡플레이 드라마A major upheaval is taking place in the online video service (OTT) market, led by Coupang. Everyone predicted that Coupang would not last three years in competition with OTTs affiliated with large corporations. Content such as dramas and movies are not even Coupang’s main business.
The predictions of industry experts who had ignored or intentionally excluded Coupang were significantly off the mark. Far from failing, it surpassed Tving and Wave to become the No. 1 OTT in Korea in just three years since its establishment. The shock of ‘4,990 won per month’ is amazing.
If you pay 4,990 won per month, you can enjoy benefits such as free delivery and fast delivery from Coupang Eats, as well as watch Coupang Play for free. It is less than half the price of competing OTTs.
According to the ‘2023 Mobile App Total Settlement Report’ released by app analysis service WiseApp·Retail·Goods (WiseApp) on the 25th, Coupang Play showed the largest increase in users among OTTs.
The number of Coupang Play users has grown by 31.9% this year, reaching 5.32 million. Next, Tving increased by 14.8% to 4.34 million, and Disney Plus increased by 29.2% to 2.49 million. Netflix increased by 1.7% to 11.78 million from the previous year. On the other hand, the number of Wave users decreased by 9.2% to 3.08 million.
Coupang Play ranked first among domestic OTTs, and second overall after Netflix.
Coupang Play’s comeback is remarkable not only in entertainment and sports events, but also in dramas. It is creating a Coupang Play syndrome in the OTT market with its low subscription fee and trending content.
Coupang Play’s original drama ‘Boys’ Generation’ is setting various records every day, such as being first in Naver’s ‘Most Searched Dramas’ for two consecutive weeks. It is attracting a lot of attention, with the viewership exploding by 1938% compared to the first week. ‘Boyhood’ is set in Chungcheongnam-do in 1989, and tells the story of Byung-tae, a troublemaker from Onyang who has a lifelong goal of living without getting along, suddenly transforming into the best in Buyeo. The slow breathing and indirect speech of the Chungcheong dialect that have been a hot topic since their first release are being combined with the actors’ sharp acting to spread like wildfire.
Coupang has continued to walk its own path, breaking through the intentional ignorance and suspicion of the existing ‘distribution Goliaths’. They are transplanting their method of success not only to distribution but also to Coupang Eats and Coupang Play.
They are sparing no expense in investing in content that is different from other OTTs, even while enduring a deficit of hundreds of billions of won. The amount of content is small compared to other OTTs, and there have been many cases of failure. Nevertheless, Coupang’s run is not stopping.
With the successive ‘fee increases’ by OTT companies, the number of users looking for Coupang Play is expected to increase in the future. To watch Netflix, Disney Plus, and Tving, you have to pay about 14,000 won per month, but if you pay 4,990 won per month, you can watch Coupang Play along with various Coupang benefits.
Meanwhile, the Major League Baseball (MLB) ‘Seoul Series’ in March next year, where Shohei Ohtani (29) will make his official debut with the LA Dodgers, will be exclusively broadcast live on Coupang Play in Korea. This is the first time that an MLB regular season game will be held in Korea. From Coupang Play’s perspective, it is a huge windfall that will allow Coupang to be known around the world.
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