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Wed, March 22, 2023 | 15:53
Tech
ExclusiveNetflix to make Korean debut next year
[단독] 넷플릭스, 내년 1월 '국내 시장 진출’
Posted : 2015-09-06 17:19
Updated : 2015-09-06 22:15
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US company seeks partnership with mobile carriers, broadcasters

By Kim Yoo-chul

BERLIN, Germany — Netflix will make its debut in Korea in January 2016 in what officials say will influence significantly the Korean TV industry.


The U.S.-based content and media giant Netflix is seeking to form strategic partnerships with Korean mobile carriers and leading terrestrial broadcasters as Netflix prefers to pursue customized strategies according to markets, said two sources during this year's IFA fair last week in Germany.

"Netflix will make its debut in Korea in January 2016. The official announcement will be made sometime next week," one of the sources knowledgeable about the issue told The Korea Times, Sunday (KST).

The sources asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to officially talk with the media.

"Korean carriers and broadcasters are underway to discuss licensing their content to Netflix in Korea. For Netflix, the main issue is how to cut costs in content delivery and lower its spending for network usage," he said.

Netflix succeeded greatly in North America and Europe. And it recently started doing business in Japan.

Digital services, from Netflix to Amazon, have lured viewers from traditional broadcast and cable networks with affordable pricing and strong original content such as House of Cards, triggering fundamental changes in TV viewing habits.

According to Netflix, it operates in more than 50 countries with a subscriber base of 65 million, of which 23 million are outside of the United States.

"Conditions in Korea are as favorable or better than they are in Japan for acceptance of Netflix's on-demand services because the infrastructure in networks in Korea is already in place with households having easy access to broadband lines and mobile services," said the other source.

Representatives at SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, Korea's three telecom carriers, declined to comment about Netflix's updated business plans.

"When you see more data traffic, then Netflix will pay more for the delivery of content. However, charges of its main services were low, and that's why Netflix needs substantial help from Korean carriers which operate networks," he said on the sidelines of the trade fair. "Netflix is on track to narrow differences over content licensing," he added.

But it remains to be seen how many Korean customers are ready to pay more for online video content as awareness of paying for content in Korea isn't that high.

For instance, another leading VOD provider in the United States, Hulu, entered the Japanese market before Netflix did. However, Hulu's Japanese service was sold because it struggled to gain customers.

Also, the percentage of VOD purchases are accounted for by foreign dramas, but conceded the number is low.

Therein lies another challenge for Netflix despite its promises of local content, the unique tastes of Korean consumers mean demand for Netflix' signature programs will likely be less than in other international markets, said a media expert based in Germany.

"Netflix's advance in Korea will be helpful to local carriers to help them set up strategies in content business and also allow Korea's media content to reach a global audience," they said.

"One final thing is that Netflix will compete strongly with broadcasters in the digital environment. If broadcasters fail to catch up with such changes, their existence will be challenged in the coming years."


[단독] 넷플릭스, 내년 1월 '국내 시장 진출’

전 세계 최대 동영상 스트리밍 업체 ‘넷플릭스(Netflix)’가 내년 1월 한국에 진출할 것으로 보인다.

유럽 최대 가전전시회 ‘IFA 2015’에서 업계 관계자들은 넷플릭스가 국내 통신사 및 지상파 방송과 전략적 제휴를 맺고 내년 초부터 국내 시장에서 맞춤형 서비스를 제공하게 될 것이라고 밝혔다.

해당 업계에에 능통한 한 관계자는 “넷플릭스가 2016년 1월 한국에 서비스를 시작할 예정이다” 라고 9일 코리아타임스(The Korea Times)에 밝혔다. 또한 “아마 다음 주 중으로 공식 발표가 있을 것으로 보인다” 고 넷플릭스의 한국 진출이 임박했음을 시사했다.

그는 “국내 통신사, 방송사들은 자사의 컨텐츠를 넷플릭스에 허가를 주는 방안에 대해 현재 논의 중이다. 넷플릭스 측에서 봤을 때 국내 시장 진출에 가장 중점 사항은 컨텐츠 전달과 네트워크 이용에 대한 비용을 줄이는 것” 이라고 덧붙였다.

넷플릭스는 이미 북미와 유럽 지역에서 큰 성공을 거둔 바 있으며 최근 일본에서 사업을 시작하며 아시아 시장 진출에 박차를 가하고 있다.

넷플릭스, 아마존 등 미국 공룡 컨텐츠 업체들은 전통적인 TV 시장에서 탈피한 새로운 컨텐츠 시장을 개척하고 있다. 특히 넷플릭스는 자체 제작한 정치 드라마 ‘하우스 오브 카드(House of Cards)’가 대박을 이루며 동영상 스트리밍 시장의 붐을 이끌고 있는 1등 공신이라고 볼 수 있다.

넷플릭스는 전 세계 50개 국 이상에 6,500만 명의 가입자를 보유하고 있으며 그 중 2,300만 명은 미국 외 국가의 가입자들이다.

다른 한 관계자는 “일본과 마찬가지로 한국 역시 넷플릭스의 서비스를 받아 들이기에 아주 좋은 환경이다” 라며 “한국의 잘 갖춰진 광대역, 모바일 서비스 기반은 넷플릭스의 서비스를 이용하기에 아주 적합하다” 고 넷플릭스의 국내 진출에 대해 긍정적으로 내다봤다. 

국내 3대 통신사인 SK텔레콤, KT, LG유플러스는 넷플릭스의 국내 시장 진출에 대해 구체적으로 언급을 거부했다.

그는 “넷플릭스가 컨텐트 인허가를 둘러 싼 문제를 해결하기 위해 현재 통신사들과 구체적인 사항을 조율 중이다” 고 말했다.

하지만 국내 소비자들이 콘텐츠 구입에 돈을 지불하기 꺼려한 다는 점을 봤을 때 넷플릭스 서비스가 한국에서 얼마나 큰 영향을 가져올 지에 대해서는 아직 정확히 예측하기 어려울 것으로 보인다.

한 예로 지난 2011년 넷플릭스가 일본 시장에 진출하기 전에 먼저 개척을 시작한 미국의 다른 스트리밍 서비스 업체 중 하나인 훌루(Hulu)는 시장 적응에 실패해 결국 사업을 매각하기에 이르고 말았다.

독일의 한 미디어 전문가는 “국내 소비자들의 독특한 취향 역시 넷플릭스가 극복해야 벽이 될 것” 이라고 밝히며 넷플릭스의 국내 진출이 쉽지만은 않을 것이라는 해석을 내비췄다.

또한 그는 “국내 통신사들은 넷플릭스의 국내 진출을 통해 그들이 국내에서 컨텐츠 사업을 할 수 있는 전략을 마련하는 데 도움을 줄 것이며 국내 미디어 컨텐츠가 세계 무대로 퍼져 나가는 데 큰 도움을 줄 것” 이라고 말했다.

하지만 그는 “만약 방송사들이 디지털화된 변화된 미디어 환경에 적응하지 못한다면 그들의 존재가 위협받을 수도 있을 것” 이라며 넷플릭스의 한국 진출이 국내 미디어 시장에 큰 변화를 가져오 게 될 것이라는 의견을 밝혔다.
Emailyckim@ktimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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