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| yna@yna.co.kr 2023-02-20 10:18:18
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) - The boundary between the online video service (OTT) and TV, which had a clear confrontation as new and old platforms a few years ago, seems to be gradually collapsing.
According to broadcasters and OTT industries on Monday, there are more and more cases of domestic OTT original content being organized on TV or broadcaster PDs directing new series on OTT.
At the time of its launch, domestic OTTs such as Wavve, TVING, and Watcha had been busy serving broadcasting company contents in the form of VOD. However, as original contents accumulate, contents are being distributed to broadcasting companies one after another.
MBC has been airing the original Wavve drama “Desperate Mr. X” starring Kwon Sang-woo since the 7th. “Desperate Mr. X” has already been released sequentially on Wavve since September last year, and the ending is already known.
Channel A has also organized the original Watcha drama “It Might be a Little Spicy Today” (translated) starring Han Suk-kyu, which was released earlier this year, every Tuesday from the 7thof this month, and Channel S has been airing last year’s Wavve’s much-talked-about school drama “Weak Hero Class 1” since the 17th.
Earlier in January this year, Channel A has aired Kakao TV's original drama "No, Thank You," and tvN also organized TVING’s representative original drama "Work Later, Drink Now" in January last year.
OTT and broadcasting companies view this content linkage as a 'win-win' strategy.
OTT can showcase content widely through TV, a mass media, and get an opportunity to raise the popularity of the works.
Broadcasters are also beneficial in that they can broadcast verified content at a relatively low cost. In particular, general programming channels and cable channels with few production programs are trying to actively utilize OTT content.
Lim Chang-hyuk, CP of Wavve, said, "If we release the original content that was exclusively released and used by customers, we can introduce the content to people who are not our customers," adding, "It also has the effect of rebooting the content. It is to extend the life of carefully created content," he explained.
An official from a broadcasting company said, "We are curating content in terms of meeting the needs of viewers who are becoming more diverse," and added, "As part of that, we purchase OTT OTT contents and organize it."
The number of cases in which producers from broadcasting companies produce OTT original entertainment or documentaries is also increasing.
Netflix variety show "Physical: 100," which is gaining popularity overseas, is a representative example. "Physical: 100" is an variety show produced by Jang Ho-ki, a member of the MBC documentary team, who proposed to Netflix. It is a program in which 100 participants compete with their bodies to select the most powerful person, and it is said to be a difficult format to try on terrestrial broadcasters, which are subject to controversy over violence.
Wavve is to introduce the investigation documentary "National Office of Investigation" created by SBS PD Bae Jung-hoon, who directed SBS's representative program "Unanswered Questions," on the 3rd of next month, and TVING has been releasing the variety show "Comic Men" (translated) produced by MBC D. Creative Studio, the general organization of MBC's digital contents, since last month.
Jung Deok-hyun, a pop culture critic, said, "It is difficult for broadcasters, whether terrestrial or cable, to survive unless they change into content companies, not platform companies," adding, "There is a movement to make content aggressively targeting not only their own platforms but also other platforms."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho.)
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