Disney+ South Korea Launch Boosted By “Snowdrop”
Disney+ launched in South Korea last year and over the past six month, with the help of new original shows such as “Rookie Cops”, “Grid” and “Snowdrop” has helped the streaming service make a strong debut in the country.
According to some new research from Media Partners Asia, at the end of 2021, there were 14.1 million subscribers across all platforms, with five core streaming services (Netflix, Wavve, TVing, Coupang Play and Disney+ ) holding an 85% share of the subscriptions and 83% of the streaming minutes viewed.
Vivek Couto, MPA’s executive director told Variety:
“Within Korea, nearly 70% of premium video consumption is driven by Korean dramas, movies and variety shows, while U.S. series and movies capture 14%. With five major brands driving SVOD and investing heavily in local content, the entry of new tier 1 SVOD platforms is expected to be challenging unless integrated with existing players [such as Paramount’s pact with TVing] or new disruptive strategies are introduced to take market share from incumbents.”
Disney+ had 7% of the market, while Netflix accounted for 33%, while in terms of minutes watched, Disney+ only had 2% of the minutes watched during the fourth quarter of 2021. However, it’s important to note that Disney+ had only recently launched and the only major Korean original to launch in this period was “Snowdrop”. The data shows that over half of the consumption on Netflix was driven by Korean content, such as “Squid Game”, with US content capturing 25% of the viewership.
Disney+ made a “robust debut” when it launched in Korea in November according to the MPA and there was strong early demand for the Marvel films and series. It’s also expecting Disney+ to continue to grow throughout 2022 with new shows like “Grid” and “Rookie Cops” boosting viewership, with more Korean originals due to arrive later this year.