[Anchor]
The drama 'Manager Kim' is making waves, becoming the first TV drama in a long time to surpass 20% in viewership ratings. It has also reached number one globally on Netflix. Recently, K-content has been finding success by crossing the boundaries between traditional TV and OTT platforms.
Reporter Lee Joo-hyoung has the story.
[Reporter]
Actor Yoon Kyung-ho held an autograph session and appeared on a live radio broadcast to fulfill a viewership pledge.
[Yoon Kyung-ho/Actor: I am so incredibly grateful to the viewers who helped us achieve this phenomenal record of 22.3%.]
The SBS drama 'Manager Kim' hit the 20% viewership mark in just four episodes. It is the first time a TV drama has exceeded 20% in about two years, since tvN's 'Queen of Tears'.
'Manager Kim' is also popular on OTT platforms.
It has been ranked number one on Netflix's global non-English language show chart for two consecutive weeks, both in Korea and abroad.
Recently, it is not uncommon for K-content to find simultaneous success on both TV and OTT.
Korean content accounts for 8.9% of total viewing time on Netflix, the second highest after the United States, and the majority of K-content distributed by Netflix originates from TV.
The line between TV and OTT is blurring.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix is considering not only live channels but also bundled products with other OTT services.
In short, it is the 'TV-fication' of OTT.
Meanwhile, the TV industry is seeking breakthroughs to address the burden of production costs—which have been driven up by OTT—through new planning and production methods.
In the case of 'Manager Kim', a three-minute segment in the second episode was produced entirely with AI, reducing costs by more than half.
[Ryu Jae-hwan/Vice President of Morpheus Studio, AI video production company for 'Manager Kim': The first discussion (with the production team) was to test whether we could produce the entire sequence using AI.]
It is true that the Korean film, drama, and TV industries have gained global recognition and secured production funding through global OTT platforms, as seen with 'Squid Game'.
However, in that process, intellectual property rights were often handed over, and it was difficult to guarantee profits commensurate with the success of the content.
Global OTT platforms have increased their subscriber bases by leveraging cost-effective K-content, but they, too, are now facing growth limitations.
Content is moving across platforms, and platforms are beginning to resemble TV. As these boundaries disappear, the video industry is entering a new phase.
(Video courtesy of Netflix | Reported by Choi Ho-jun and Park Jin-ho | Video edited by Shin Se-eun | Graphics by Hwang Se-yeon | VJ: Oh Se-kwan)
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