Netflix’s $2.5 billion funding in Korean content material targets international viewers

Netflix is spending $2.5 billion on Korean content material and sees alternatives past the Asian area, mentioned Don Kang, Netflix’s vice chairman of Korean content material.

Over the subsequent 4 years, Netflix will make investments $2.5 billion in varied kinds of Korean content material spanning TV sequence, movies and nonfiction exhibits, Kang instructed CNBC’s “Squawk Field Asia.” He mentioned it can double the variety of nonfiction exhibits it’s producing, from about 4 in 2022 to not less than eight this yr, reflecting the Korean viewers’s demand for selection exhibits.

These embrace the fact present “Bodily 100” it launched earlier this yr, which includes a hundred contestants battling one another in a sequence of bodily strenuous challenges.

“I feel that was actually the primary nonfiction present to have international viewing, getting folks actually excited,” he mentioned. Korean competitors or nonfiction exhibits do not usually journey very far exterior Korea and the Asia-Pacific area, however Kang mentioned the success of “Bodily 100” is a “actually optimistic signal.”

“Bodily 100” topped Netflix’s weekly viewership for non-English TV exhibits for 2 weeks in 2022. One other Korean selection present that earned international success in 2022 was actuality relationship present “Single’s Inferno,” which Kang mentioned featured within the international high 10 record.

Kang mentioned he labored on the worldwide distribution of Korean exhibits earlier than becoming a member of Netflix in 2018. “Again then it was largely romantic comedies” that acquired traction, he mentioned. Distribution was restricted to close by nations like Japan and different Southeast Asian nations because of language and cultural variations in different areas, he added.

However Netflix invests in localization by way of subtitles and dubbing, which removes language as a primary barrier to entry and “makes a world of distinction,” he mentioned.

“You possibly can’t underestimate the … numerous tastes that folks have all all over the world,” Kang mentioned, citing the thriller sequence “Squid Recreation” for instance. Netflix had thought of altering its title to one thing with extra context for worldwide viewers, however finally stored its authentic “catchy title that provokes curiosity,” mentioned Kang.

Netflix’s slate of Korean content material introduced thus far for this yr additionally diversifies away from romance, together with genres like drama, apocalyptic in addition to social commentary and intrigue alongside its nonfiction exhibits.

Kang mentioned Korea has the flexibility to inform tales that convey its distinctive tradition, but in addition resonate with the common feelings of worldwide viewers. “When a present is beloved by a Korean viewers, it has a really, very excessive probability of being beloved by audiences … all over the world.”