Forgot password

 

 

 

In 2015, subscribers for IPTV services such as olleh TV, SK B tv and LG U+ tv reached the 12 million mark. This means that with a population of 50 million, and setting the average at two persons per household, at least half of the South Korean population is subscribing to IPTV services.

 

With a rapidly increasing subscription rate, the IPTV market is continuing to expand. This enabled the IPTV market to move beyond its reputation as merely a VOD platform for the local media industry, and acquire as much power as TV and film theaters. IPTV is no longer just a simple ancillary market, but a platform that is just as influential as film theaters. 

 

The number of film titles on offer differs from service to service, but most of the theatrical titles released within a year can be seen on almost every IPTV service. The status of IPTV within the Korean film industry can be seen through how fast first-run features reach IPTV. It normally takes about two months for a box office hit to reach TV.

 

Last year, two 10 million admissions hits, Assassination and Veteran, became available on IPTV two months after their first-run releases in theaters. Another early 2015 hit, Detective K : Secret of the Lost Island, took two months to become available in a home theater setting. The Throne began screening a month and a half later, while the 6.12 million admissions hit, Kingsman: The Secret Service, debuted on IPTV after two and a half months. But now it’s taking even less time for first-run releases to reach IPTV. Last November’s 5.4 million admissions hit The Priests started IPTV services after just one month. Such high-profile films quickly run up 100,000 hits as soon as services start. As for less fortunate films at the box office, the transition to IPTV is even faster than the average rate.

 

For a film to be playing both in theater and on IPTV at the same time has become a new game-changing strategy with the help of this new platform. Small-scale films such as the Korea-Japan co-production, A Midsummer’s Fantasia, which had healthy ticket sales, and Alice In Earnestland, in which female lead LEE Jung-hyun was singled out for an outstanding performance, often choose this double-exhibition screening for strategic reasons.

 

This ‘double-screening’ service is not just limited to these 'diversity films’, but also star-driven commercial films including Wonderful Nightmare, THE ACCIDENTAL DETECTIVE, The Phone, THE SOUND OF A FLOWER and The Beauty Inside. The romantic comedy Wonderful Nightmare, starring Korean Wave star SONG Seung-heon, became available on both services one month after its heatrical release to attract more viewers in the home theater market. It ended up being the top-ranked film for four consecutive weeks. Certain films choose to have their first-run release on IPTV. Dream House, starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, Magic Mike XXL with Channing Tatum, and trendy Chinese drama, American Dreams in China are just some.

 

 

 

Then there are films that have stronger performances on IPTV than in theaters which are R-rated films and G-rated films such as animation or family films. The Treacherous, which attracted attention with its provocative sex scenes, immediately grabbed the No. 1 place in VOD rankings and continued to increase as soon as it began screening. Empire of Lust and Love Clinic were also R-rated films that displayed strong viewing patterns.

 

Children’s films are also part of a genre that cashes in more money through IPTV than in theaters as they offer parents unable to visit theaters with their children a worry-free viewing environment. These films are especially popular during the school vacation seasons. Last August, releases such as Despicable Me 2, Pixels and You Are So Yummy - Happy to Be with You, and winter vacation releases of January such as Pororo3 : Cyber Space Adventure and Minions were titles that ranked at the top during the month of their releases on IPTV. Accordingly, there has lately been an increasing number of erotic films and family films being made exclusively for IPTV.

 

 

With the popularization of IPTV, the ancillary market which used to be considered a weak spot in the Korean film industry, has entered a new phase. Each film has its own profit sharing structure, but the fact that IPTV is a legitimate distribution channel that has the second largest audience base, after theaters, makes it a relatively stable source of revenue.

 

If DVDs display their strength in the value of possession, IPTV sets itself apart with its value in fast and comfortable access. Lately, IPTV services are attempting to find new ways to overcome their limitations by providing filmmaking documentaries and special video supplements that are usually included in DVD packages and film downloading for the purpose of ownership. The change of lifestyle which has led to the common use of smartphones and tablet PCs is giving more power to IPTV.

 

By securing its place as a main platform for films, change is taking place in the IPTV market: the world’s largest provider of on-demand Internet streaming media, Netflix joined the Korean market this January on the 7th. A flat rate fee service, Netflix provides media services for any form of device, such as TV, mobile phone, PC and tablets, that can be connected to the Internet. With its enormous media library befitting its nickname ‘contents dinosaur’, the local IPTV industry is keeping a watchful eye on Netflix.

 

But for the time being, the IPTV industry’s predictions are that no immediate change will occur because local IPTVs are already providing mobile viewing services as well. Thus, the quality and quantity of content will be the key.