Kocowa

EXCLUSIVE: The Hallyu march continues this week, as a significant Korean content material streaming service continues its world rollout.

Okay-entertainment subscription streamer Kocowa+ has launched in Europe and Oceania, providing 30,000 hours — what Kocowa claims is the “largest Korean content library outside of Korea” — and with English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese subtitles. In complete, it should launch in 39 territories.

One notable side of the service is that each one new packages are made out there inside eight hours of their broadcast in Korea, all absolutely geared up with subtitles. A curated KocoCraves function will comprise a mixture of dwell viewing events and chosen content material that encourages fan engagement and entry to easy-access fan favourite content material.

Kocowa is a three way partnership firm fashioned by Korean broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, SK Square Americas and Content Wavve. The service launched in 2017 and is already within the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

The content material combine consists of Okay-dramas, K-pop movies and performances, celebrity-led actuality reveals and selection reveals.

Newly launched dramas embrace Queen of Divorce, a few high divorce mediator who affords a ‘vengeful solution’ in opposition to the maddening partner of a consumer, romantic each day drama Su Ji and U Ri, historic wartime romance sequence My Dearest, season two of Escape of the Seven and the Park Seo-jun starrer Fight For My Way, which follows 4 buddies pursuing their desires.

Library dramas embrace coming-of-age faculty drama Weightlifting Fairy Kim-Book Joo; Coffee Prince, a few poor lady disguised as a girl who falls in love with the proprietor of a restaurant that hires males solely; highschool drama Extraordinary You and High Kick!, which is billed as “Modern Family with a Korean twist.”

On the unscripted entrance are reveals comparable to Weekly Idol, Home Alone, The Manager and How Do You Play, that includes comic Yoo Jae-suk. Exclusive content material consists of Alumni Lovers, wherein former classmates reunite with previous crushes, and subs within the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Spain can have entry to selection present Running Man.

Okay-pop reveals may even be properly represented with the likes of Idol Star Athletics Championships, lady group journey sequence NewJeans Travel Code in Busan and BTS Chronicles. Travel sequence that includes Okay-pop teams has turn out to be large enterprise and additional reveals from the style embrace Aespa’s Sync Road, EXO Travel the World on a Ladder and NCT Life, which affords seasons set in Osaka, Chuncheon and Honcheon, together with DREAM in Wonderland, wherein NCT DREAM members escape town life and luxuriate in holidays in small cities.

Kocowa+ may even provide dwell streams of live shows and music chart reveals, together with year-end productions comparable to KBS Song Festival, SBS Entertainment Awards and MBC Music Festival.

Kocowa+ is priced at at €6.99 ($6.99) monthly for primary entry, with premium plans providing as much as 4 logins at €7.99 ($7.99). A 30% low cost on new subscriptions is being provided for the primary yr.

“As the home of the largest Korean Content library outside of Korea, we are honored to bring the first 100% Korean streaming platform to Europe and Oceania,” mentioned KunHee Park, CEO and CPO, Crossfunctional of KOCOWA+.

“As we introduce our unique brand to new subscribers, we are excited about our ability to understand what the audience wants so that we can create customized experiences for them based on their preferences to enable them to discover, connect and enjoy everything our platform has to offer.”

The launch comes on the again of a Media Partners Asia report that advised Korean content material accounted for 50% of SVO viewership and 42% of free streaming viewing throughout Asia within the first half of 2023, and amidst rising recognition of Okay-content all over the world. Parrot Analytics additionally not too long ago reported that Okay-content demand had doubled since 2018 and is at present at an all-time excessive.

Europe, particularly, has adopted the Hallyu (Okay-content) wave. The continent was not too long ago named because the style’s fast-growing market, with 13.2 million figuring out themselves as followers, in response to the 2023 Overseas Global Hallyu Survey.

The motion can be rising within the U.S., as Deadline’s reporting has highlighted. We not too long ago revealed that LA producer-distributor The Gurin Company, UTA and Titan Content, the U.S.-based Okay-pop firm launched by former SM Entertainment CEO Nikki Semin Han, teamed to created Okay-Pop Dreams (working title), a Okay-pop expertise search set within the U.S.