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KT Corp. and CJ ENM have agreed to combine their respective over-the-top video platforms to form the largest streaming site. This means that they will be merging KT’s Seezn and CJ ENM’s TVing with the aim of becoming the No. 1 OTT video service provider in South Korea.
KT Corp. and CJ ENM expect that their merger decision will effectively scale up the growth of Korean video content. According to Pulse News, the companies said earlier this week that KT Studio Genie and TVing are set to have a separate board meeting, and it was subsequently held on Thursday.
The meeting was to discuss the integration plan and finalize the details of the merger. Business observers said that once the deal is completed, KT’s Seezn may be placed and operated under TVing. In any case, the financial details, including the capital ratio of the agreement, were not divulged to the public.
It was noted that once Seezn and TVing are finally unified, it will be the second merger and acquisition (M&A) agreement in the Korean OTT market. The first was the partnership of SK Telecom’s Oksusu and Pooq that was formed through the collaboration of major TV stations - SBS, KBS, and MBC - to create a joint video-on-demand platform in the country.
“In 2019, mobile carrier SK Telecom led the platform integration as the controlling stockholder, but this time, content provider CJ ENM’s Tving will lead the unity, showing the changed status of the content business,” an official in the OTT sector stated.
KT’s Seezn and CJ ENM’s TVing will have a combined number of customers reaching 5.6 million. This figure will surpass South Korea’s current highest number of subscribers, which is 4.24 million, under the Wave OTT platform.
Korea Joongang Daily also quoted an analyst at Yuanta Securities, Choi Nam Gon, as saying about the merger, “It is a win-win for both because Seezn can target beyond KT subscribers and CJ ENM can get access to KT’s 14 million phone users.”
Meanwhile, it was suggested that KT Corp. and CJ ENM would be competing with Netflix once their OTT streaming platforms are completely combined. As of April, the American streaming company has more than 10 million subscribers, and it will be easy for the companies to catch up and gain additional subscribers as they already have more than five million combined. users
