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Disney Plus Launches in Korea in November: Impact on Local OTT Market
  • August 27, 2021

Disney Plus Launches in Korea in November:
Impact on Local OTT Market

Updated: 2021-08-26 17:08:46 KST
 

 

Streaming platform Disney Plus will begin operations in Korea in November, and its launch in the Korean market is expected to shake up the local OTT, or over-the-top video services, market.
Disney Plus is home to Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic and the platform holds second-most subscribers following Netflix.
But Netflix is still far ahead of the game both locally and globally so we'll have to see how Disney's entrance will challenge Netflix's hegemony.
To talk about this exciting competition between the streaming services, we have our culture critic Youngdae Kim with us today. Great to have you.

The speed of Disney's growth is faster than Netflix - it gained 12.4 million subscribers as of the first half of this year whereas Netflix gained about one-and-a-half million subscribrs.
But this doesn't mean Disney beat Netflix just yet. Netflix still has twice as many subscribers than Disney Plus globally.
Do you think the launch of Disney Plus in November will be a threat to Netflix in Korea?

There are also speculations that other global streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Apple TV Plus will also enter the Korean market. Do you think this will be an opportunity for the local OTT market to grow as a whole?

It won't be easy for local players to compete against these global giants entering the country. Are there possibilities of local services banding together to consolidate their services? There is speculation in the industry that some of the OTT services will have to merge. How do you think it will play out?

What are some strengths and weaknesses of each streaming service (Disney, Netflix)?

What do you think is the key to success for OTT services?

All of these streaming services are in the battle for "killer content." How important is IP for content providers?

Youngdae Kim, our music critic on Newscenter, thanks for your insights tonight.