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| yna@yna.co.kr 2022-12-12 13:51:13
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- #1. Office worker A, 37, who has been subscribing Netflix has transferred to Disney+, thinking of binge-watching marble series such as "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" and "Moon Knight."
#2 Another worker B, 35, enjoyed watching "Work Later, Drink Now" on Tving last year, but stopped the subscription as monthly subscription fee was overwhelming. However, with the news that season 2 is coming out, he is considering whether to subscribe Tving again.
According to Online streaming services (or OTT, Over-The-Top services) on Sunday, "Grasshopper" members, so-called members who meander around different online services as necessary, are increasing.
Rather than being loyal by sticking with one service, they move from one place to another based on their tastes and situations.
Each platforms are having tough time deciding how to show new contents in order to attract subscribers or to prevent leaving.
Dramas, which take up the greatest portion of OTT, can be mainly separated into "releasing all episodes at once" or "releasing sequentially," which release episodes in certain time period.
◇ Netlfix which made 'Binge-watching' trend…effective at increasing immersion level of genre drama
Front-runner of OTT, Netflix releases all the episodes on the day of its release.
This is the biggest difference with TV dramas, which airs 1-2 episodes a week, and it also created new viewing behaviors such as "watching drama from start to finish" and "binge-watching."
Watching all episodes in a row has an advantage of being able to focus on the work like a long film. It is also effective at increasing immersion level since the flow of the story is not interrupted. As a result, reviews from public come out immediately and explosively.
This kind of "Binge-watching" is the reason behind the popularity of global hit drama series "Squid Game" and the reason how Netflix was able to become a new platform to enjoy contents, taking over TV.
This driving is also cited as a factor in the popularity of the worldwide hit "Squid Game" and as a new platform for Netflix to enjoy content on behalf of TV.
The simultaneous release of the entire series is particularly effective in genres where high immersion level is important, such as crime, mystery, action, and science fiction.
Wavve's action drama series "Weak Hero Class," which made a hit recently, also released whole episodes at once. Wavve usually releases episodes in order, but it changes depending on the works.
Director of "Weak Hero Class," Yoo Soo-min answered "The advantage is being able to release all eight episodes at once, and I think it worked," when asked the characteristic of OTT dramas.
Dinsey+, which has been releasing episodes of Korean original drama in a row since its launching in last November, has released all episodes of "Connect" starring Jung Hae-in and Go Kyung-pyo for the first time.
It looks like complaints from the viewers who are adapted to binge-watching and the viewers not showing enthusiastic reactions led to such change.
Previously, episodes of Disney+'s Sci-Fi drama "Gird" were released sequentially, receiving the feedback that it ruins the immersion level, while its crime drama "Shadow Detective" received favorable comments only after the final episode was released.
Lead role Lee Sung-min, during a press interview, also mentioned that it's a pity that feedback on the work is delayed as the episodes are not released at once."
◇ "Grasshopper" subscribers switching to different OTT...Sequential release is advantageous in keeping subscriptions
Unlike Netflix, orgignal platforms such as Wavve, Tving, and Watcha, as well as late-comer Disney+ prefers sequential releasing method.
This is to increase the awareness of the platform and increase the number of subscribers by continuing the demand for popular dramas for a certain period of time.
"Work Later, Drink Now," which is considered the No.1 drama to increase the the number of paid subscribers, among Tving's past contents is the representative example. Season 1, which aired twice a week for a total of six weeks last year, is said to have set the postion of Tving, which was showing poor performances compared to Netflix and Wavve.
The biggest advantage of the sequential releasing method is that it can buy time before the next work is released.
This is because if all episodes of the drama are released at once, the gap between the next work is inevitably prolonged.
Disney+ was able to release all episodes of "Connect" at once because a new work was waiting to come out. Disney+ showcased its masterpiece "Casino" starring Choi Min-sik, two weeks after the release of "Connect."
This is why Watcha and Coupang Play, which have relatively few original dramas, decide to release episodes sequentially.
OTT platforms are afraid of a hiatus because "Grasshopper" subscribers switch from one OTT to another.
Unlike the past when Netflix ran solo, subscribers have more choices such as Disney+, Apple TV+, Tving, Wavve, and Watcha.
"Grasshoper" subscribers enjoy content of OTT for the amount of times they have paid for, and once the date expires, they transfer to different OTT. It's like they binge-watch netflix content in December, Disney+ in next January, and Tving in next Feb.
Director who currently worked on OTT drama said, "There was only Netflix, but now there are so many OTT platforms," adding, "I felt like the needs of OTT platforms to maintain their subscribers have increased. In the sense that platforms can hold onto subscribers longer, sequential releasing is little more preferred, I think.
As such, releasing all episodes at once has the advantages that it can increase the immersion level and bring more lively reactions, but there is a danger of Grasshoper subscribers leaving easily. On the contray, sequential release can hold onto subscribers for long time, while it can not grasp attention from the viewers fast and the reactions are slow.
One OTT official said, "Attracting subscribers is the basic goal of investing on OTT's content; if content is released sequentially, it can prolong its polarity and can induce members during that time," adding, "But because releasing at once has great power of influence, it is hard to say which one is better."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Jiwon Woo.)
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