- Netflix announces an investment of 2,500 million dollars in South Korea after the success of “The Squid Game”.
- Original content has become essential in the competition between streaming services.
- The demand for original content has increased while that for licensed content has decreased.
The leading global streaming service, Netflix, announced a mega investment of 2,500 million dollars in South Korea, country where one of the greatest successes in its history was produced: The Squid Game.
The investment in Korea was announced after a meeting of “giants”: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos.
The meeting took place as part of the State meetings that Yoon is holding this April in Washington, United States.
Netflix did not provide details of the investment. That is, it is not known, until now, what the company will spend the 2,500 million dollars in South Korea.
“We have great confidence in the Korean content industry, and we look forward to continuing to produce great stories,” Sarandos told the Korean media.
The series El Juego del Squid”, or also known as “Squid Game”, was released in September 2021 and quickly became one of the most watched in the history of Netflix.
Last week, Netflix released its quarterly financial report with less rosy forecasts than expected. The issues relate to the streaming service’s crackdown on unauthorized password sharing in the second quarter, which appears to have hit subscriptions and consequently hurt its profits.
Netflix and investment in content
In the increasingly competitive landscape of streaming services, a key “battleground” factor is original content.
With the rise of streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+, the demand for new and exclusive content has become essential to capture the attention of viewers and, of course, the subscription pesos or dollars.
Original content refers to TV shows, movies, and other programming created and produced by the streaming services themselves, rather than licensed by third-party studios or networks.
The importance of original content can be seen in the statistics. According to the latest report on the subject from Parrot Analytics, a data analytics company that specializes in measuring global demand for TV, original content has been a driving force behind the success of streaming services.
In 2022, three of the top five most in-demand TV shows globally were produced by streaming services. The report also found that the demand for original content increased 40 percent between 2021 and 2022, while the demand for licensed content decreased 15 percent.
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