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| ▲This photo, provided by TVING, shows the logo of TVING. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, November 6 (Yonhap) -- Attention is focused on whether TVING will be able to surpass Netflix's record as it begins to solidify as the No. 1 online streaming service platform (OTT) in Korea.
TVING's monthly active users (MAU) stood at 4,306,973 last month, the largest among Korean platforms. Wave ranked second, with 4,162,206 users, according to the mobile index of big data platform company IGAWorks on November 6,
TVING surpassed Wave, which maintained its position as the first Korean online streaming service platform for the first time in September, and continued to be ranked as the first on the next month again, for two consecutive months.
In particular, TVING has expanded the gap between Wave and the number of users over the past two months to solidify the No. 1 position among online streaming service platforms in Korea. The MAU gap between the two companies widened from 49,467 in September to 144,767 in October.
TVING is also in a favorable position to increase its user base.
The Fair Trade Commission recently approved the merger of TVING and Seezn. TVING decided to take over KT Group's Seezn on December 1.
Considering 1,247,831 people, Seezn's MAU in October, the combined MAU of the two companies exceeded 5.5 million, making it the strongest Korean online streaming service platform,
An official from TVING said, "The number of users has increased as original contents such as 'EXchange' and 'Lim Young-woong Concert' received good reviews."
The challenge of TVING is whether it can surpass Netflix's record, which has been maintaining the No. 1 spot in the domestic online streaming service platform market.
Netflix has been showing a drop in their MAU, but the platform still recorded 11,366,597 users, easily recording over 1 million users. It is only half the level of Netflix even if TVING's MAU is added to the Seezn.
Moreover, predictions are made that it may not be easy to narrow the gap in the number of users as Netflix has been performing aggressive marketing, such as launching low-cost plans that include advertisements in nine countries, including Korea.
Netflix introduced their new monthly plan with a lower price than the existing plan with advertisements in the content on November 3.
An official from the industry said, "Since many users are subscribed to several online streaming service platforms, the launch of a low-cost plan will not encourage people to unsubscribe from Korean platforms and transfer to Netflix," adding, "it is expected for users to movie in between Netflix's subscription plans."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Dowon Kim.)
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