[Concall Summary] "Watch Variety Shows and Dramas on KakaoTalk" Launch of TokTV

Soyoung Cho (left), Minsoo Yeo, Co-CEOs of Kakao

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Kakao announced its highest-ever performance with Q2 sales of 952.9 billion KRW and operating profit of 97.8 billion KRW this year, while revealing future new business plans such as 'digital content.'

◆ Official Launch of TokTV Next Year= Yeo Minsu, co-CEO of Kakao, stated in a conference call immediately after the earnings announcement on the 6th, "TokTV is preparing for a full official launch next year."

TokTV is Kakao's proprietary video platform, a video streaming service utilizing KakaoTalk, which has 52 million users. Once TokTV is officially launched, it will be possible to watch content created by Kakao itself within the KakaoTalk platform.

CEO Yeo emphasized, "Kakao M plans to start various experiments from the second half of the year to showcase original digital content on KakaoTalk," adding, "We will provide users with a new content consumption experience that did not exist before and pioneer another content domain."

Kakao has been expanding its scale for such content business since 2018. Its subsidiary Kakao M, launched in 2018, has acquired four major music labels including Starship Entertainment, seven actor management companies including BH Entertainment, three drama production companies including Mega Monster, two film production companies including Sanai Pictures, and performance production company Show Note. It has also assembled a brilliant lineup for original digital content production. Star PDs such as Oh Yun-hwan, the executive producer of MBC's 'Golden Fishery,' Kim Min-jong of 'Real Men,' and Park Jin-kyung and Kwon Hae-bom of 'My Little Television' have joined Kakao M in large numbers.

CEO Yeo stated, "You will be able to enjoy Kakao M's original digital content, including variety shows being prepared at the studio led by Executive Producer Oh, within KakaoTalk."

◆ Expansion of 'Kakao Bizboard'= Kakao also revealed plans related to its advertising business, which drove strong Q2 performance.

In particular, Kakao announced it will gradually expand the exposure area of 'Tokboard,' an ad based on KakaoTalk. CEO Yeo said, "Now, you will be able to see Tokboard banner ads not only in the chat tab but also on Kakao's major services such as Daum portal and KakaoPage," adding, "In the future, Tokboard is expected to expand its exposure space to various lifestyle services that Kakao owns." Reflecting this, the name of 'KakaoTalk Bizboard' was changed to 'Kakao Bizboard.'

Accordingly, Kakao also provided a positive outlook for the 'TokBiz' segment. CEO Yeo said, "TokBiz revenue, including KakaoTalk ads and commerce, grew 78% year-on-year in the first half," adding, "We aim for over 50% growth in TokBiz revenue and expect to achieve about 1 trillion KRW in sales this year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.