K-content industry should focus on diverse monetization opportunities: industry expert

The Korean content industry should seek out ways to diverse monetizing opportunities, experts told a global conference on streaming industries in Asia.

Speaking at the conference titled "Korea in View" held Aug. 29, Marianne Lee, chief of content acquisition and development at streaming platform Viu, said the content industry in Korea is going through a "correction period," in which the industry is now struggling to keep up with soaring production costs, which have risen fourfold in the last decade.

Lee stressed it was crucial for the Korean content industry to seek ways to increase monetization opportunities, such as multi-country collaborations. She took example of Viu's latest global project "Secret Ingredient," which featured writers, directors and actors from diverse countries.

Participating in the conference were over 300 delegates, including officials from major media companies such as BBC Studios, Sony Pictures Television and CJ ENM.

“Streaming has democratized content in a significant way, and viewers are voting for Asian content, with 14 billion hours of Asian content consumed globally in 2023,” said Vivek Couto, managing and executive director at Media Partners Asia.

Korean content is especially significant in the Southeast Asian and Taiwanese markets, accounting for over 30 percent of viewership and contributing up to 30 percent of viewer acquisition, according to Couto.

Couto added that the Korean content industry still had room to grow and one method to achieve growth may be through replicating pay TV bundle models.

"Korea is just in the 'second innings' in the streaming industry," said Couto.

He suggested that replicating pay TV bundle models, where subscription packages combine streaming platforms or pay TV services with complimentary services, could help expand the content market in Korea, given that Korean households typically have two to three subscriptions.