IRKOM Brief

Leading Korean content owners including CJ ENM and NEW ID have struck supply deals with Samsung TV Plus, a U.S. free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel.

The arrival of some 4,000 hours of free-to-stream shows and movies available on demand makes the channel one of the largest providers of Korean content in the U.S. market. Samsung TV Plus is pre-installed and free to stream on Samsung TVs, Galaxy devices, Family Hub, and smart monitors.

[Source: Samsung Newsroom U.S.]

“K-Content is no longer niche – it’s one of the fastest growing and most watched categories globally,” said Salek Brodsky, senior VP & GM of Samsung TV Plus.

The lineup will include monthly exclusives from CJ ENM, South Korea’s biggest film and TV conglomerate, with hit series including “Voice 4” and “Dark Hole,” along with romantic drama “Doom at Your Service.”

Unscripted shows, including food entertainment shows such as “The Genius Paik” and “Three Meals a Day,” will make their U.S. premiere on the channel, along with travel shows “House on Wheels” and “Youn’s Kitchen.” The psychological thriller drama “Beyond Evil,” distributed by NEW ID, will also be arriving soon.

[Source: Samsung Newsroom U.S.]

Korean movies have had an international following for even longer than K-drama shows. The updated film offering will include Lee Chang-dong’s “Burning,” with “Beef” star Steven Yeun, and the Song Kang-ho-starring “A Taxi Driver,” which was Korea’s Oscar contender in 2017. Both are sourced from NEW.

From KT Alpha, the channel has picked up titles including “Joint Security Area,” “Oh! Brothers,” “The President’s Last Bang” and “26 Years.” The channel operators say they are in negotiations with “hundreds” of other providers.

“Through Samsung TV Plus, we are excited not only to bring our diverse content libraries to international audiences but also to explore new collaboration opportunities to further expand the impact of Korean entertainment,” said Seo Jang-ho, SVP of CJ ENM’s content business division.

“Advertising will run during commercial breaks. Our market-leading advertising business, Samsung Ads, complements our unique capabilities and deep understanding of consumers with first-party data to deliver high-impact advertising solutions for brands on a massive scale,” Brodsky said.

There is significant competition among streaming platforms and channels to deliver Korean content. Netflix and Disney are investing heavily in premium proprietary Korean films and TV shows. Netflix is behind “Uprising,” the opening night title of the Busan International Film Festival, which got under way Wednesday (local time). KOCOWA, Rakuten Viki and Disney are also streaming concerts and documentary fare. Meanwhile CJ ENM is the dominant investor behind Tving, a Korea-based streaming platform with films, series and sports, and which has in the past also expressed ambitions to expand abroad.

“Many of our partners operate successful subscription services and support different business models in order to maximize the monetization and reach of their content. FAST is here to stay and has proven to be yet another high-impact and complementary distribution channel for their programming. Samsung TV Plus is available on more than 600 million devices worldwide, and is an unrivaled platform for the global distribution of content, particularly for movies and TV shows that transcend cultures and borders,” Brodsky told Variety.

*Patrick Frater of Variety wrote this content.

*The Original Content Click