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Broadcaster-Led Service Partners with C47 Investment to Finance Film Productions

wavve, the streaming service run by broadcasters SBS, KBS, MBC and SK Telecom, is making a move into the film arena. The streaming service announced that it has partnered with C47 Investment to create a private equity fund worth KRW 40 billion (USD 35 million), which will be used to finance film productions.

The full amount of the fund is earmarked to finance original content for wavve. The first round of funding worth KRW 5 billion (USD 4.375million) is on the cusp of realization after several financial institutions have already pledged to invest. wavve and C47 expect the fund to grow to KRW 40 billion by early next year.

The first original film project for wavve will be Gentlemen (literal title), a production that has courted Ju Jihoon and Han Sohee to star. The crime film will be helmed by The Artist: Reborn (2017) director Kim Kyougnwon. The film, fully financed by wavve, is expected to hit theaters in May next year, after which it will be made available exclusively on wavve.

Launched by Korea’s broadcasters as a streaming service to house their popular original programming, wavve has grown into one of the top OTT companies in Korea and has set its sights on original programming. Last year, it launched the sci-fi anthology series SF8, and early this year, it pledged KRW 1 trillion to fund its content slate through to 2025.

C47 is a content investment company based in Singapore and South Korea that has participated as an investor in Korean dramas such as Life on Mars and the British film 1917.

wavve’s move into original film programming follows the streaming services Netflix and TVING, who each currently have their first original Korean films in production.