Naver to launch joint venture with Big Hit Entertainment in US

BeNX CEO Steve Seo gives a speech on its business platform Weverse during the firm's first anniversary of foundation at its headquarters in Seoul, Aug. 13. / Courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment

By Kim Jae-heun

Naver, the country's leading portal, plans to launch a joint venture with Big Hit Entertainment in the United States this year to run an entertainment business utilizing K-pop stars, according to an industry source, Tuesday.

"The name of the company has not been decided on yet along with the specific date of establishment, but it is likely to be within this year," the source told The Korea Times, asking not to be named.

The two firms are discussing issues regarding ownership percentages of the joint venture, with the talent agency seeking the bigger share, the source added.

Naver and Big Hit Entertainment declined to comment on the matter.

The joint venture, tentatively named "NaverBe," according to another source, will be set up by combining Naver's V Live division with Big Hit Entertainment's beNX, a technology subsidiary that developed its software application "Weverse."

Naver's V Live and Big Hit Entertainment's Weverse provide a live video streaming service that allows celebrities to engage with fans online. The firms have also developed their technology to host various virtual events from live chat sessions to reality shows and K-pop concerts.

Weverse has an e-commerce application Weverse Shop that sells subscriptions for media content as well as BTS-related products and merchandise.

The entertainment firm, which went public on the KOSPI last month, wants to lower its reliance on the K-pop superstar boyband, which is responsible for nearly 70 percent of its profitability. Last year, BTS was responsible for 97.4 percent of the talent agency's revenue.

Its platform operator beNX has cut some reliance from its mother company, but industry watchers say this is not enough.

Big Hit Entertainment needs to invite more K-pop stars to Weverse and for Naver's V Live, to better create synergy with beNX.

V Live has a variety of K-pop bands broadcasting live videos on its platform securing 80 million monthly active users.

In August, Naver invested 100 billion won in SM Entertainment and its subsidiaries to use their celebrities on its V Live platform to attract more global fans. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with CJ ENM to beef up its V Live business. CJ ENM is Korea's No.1 entertainment content provider.

However, its sales were only 27 billion won in the third quarter this year and it is going into the red. Big Hit Entertainment's beNX, on the other hand, posted 140 billion won in sales with a 14 billion won operating profit in the same period.

When the joint venture is founded, it is expected to host online concerts for most K-pop stars in the global market and sell band-related items while inviting fans around the world to communicate with their idols.

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