Netflix to speculate $2.5 billion in South Korea to make TV reveals, films

Netflix Inc mentioned on Tuesday it plans to speculate $2.5 billion in South Korea over the following 4 years to supply Korean TV collection, films and unscripted reveals, doubling the quantity the corporate has invested out there since 2016.

The U.S. streaming service made the announcement after a gathering between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Yoon arrived in Washington on Monday for a six-day state go to.

President Yoon welcomed the funding as a “main alternative” for South Korea’s content material trade and Netflix because the nation seeks to extend cultural exports and mushy energy.

Shares of South Korean manufacturing and leisure firms rallied on Tuesday with Showbox and Studio Dragon up 8.75% and a pair of.26%, respectively, in comparison with the nation’s smaller Kosdaq index’s 2.21% drop.

Often known as the “Korean Wave” or Hallyu, South Korea’s leisure trade has loved a worldwide increase in recent times. Its music market, led by Okay-pop teams equivalent to BTS and Blackpink, have been main the cost.

In 2021, exports of content material together with music, video video games and movies reached a file excessive of $12.4 billion, based on the most recent authorities knowledge, forsaking house home equipment and rechargeable batteries in export quantity.

“We have been in a position to make this choice as a result of we have now nice confidence that the Korean inventive trade will proceed to inform nice tales,” Sarandos mentioned in a press release, citing the streaming platform’s world hits produced by South Korean creators equivalent to “Squid Recreation”, “The Glory” and “Bodily:100”.

“Squid Recreation”, a 2021 launch, stays Netflix’s most-watched collection of all-time, having racked up 1.65 billion hours of streaming within the first 28 days.

Netflix supplied a lighter-than-expected forecast final week, because it appears to be like to crack down on unsanctioned password sharing into the second quarter to make enhancements, delaying some monetary advantages.