[Comprehensive] Wave Recruits CCO Behind Misaeng, Signal, and Dokkaebi... Betting on 'Jjin' Original Content

Lee Chan-ho, new Chief Content Officer (Head of Content Strategy Division) at Wavve

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Wavve, a leading domestic online video service (OTT), has made a bold move in its original content strategy by recruiting a star Chief Producer (CP) from CJ ENM, who consecutively produced hit dramas such as "Misaeng," "Signal," and "Goblin," as its Chief Content Officer (CCO). The strategy is to survive the increasingly fierce OTT survival competition by emphasizing the quality of genuinely planned original content. Wavve, which announced an investment plan worth 1 trillion KRW by 2025, plans to establish a separate planning studio as early as the first half of this year.

◇ Recruiting Star CP... Competing with 'Content Quality'

Content Wavve, which operates OTT Wavve, announced on the 3rd that it has recruited former Studio Dragon CP Lee Chan-ho as the head of the Content Strategy Division and CCO to strengthen content competitiveness. Director Lee joined CJ Media (now CJ ENM) in 2004 and has recently been active at Studio Dragon, a subsidiary of CJ ENM. He is also one of the industry's top content experts, having served as the responsible producer for hit dramas such as "Misaeng," "Signal," "Goblin," "Stranger," "100 Days My Prince," and "Voice."

With the addition of Director Lee, who has extensive experience in planning and producing numerous masterpieces, Wavve expects to present high-quality original works. Director Lee expressed his ambition, saying, "We are planning various genres of content that can show Wavve's unique color," and "We will build a strong K-content lineup with global competitiveness."

This CCO recruitment is interpreted as Wavve's strong will to compete with the quality of original content. It is reported that Lee Tae-hyun, CEO of Wavve and a former KBS PD, personally devoted more than five months to the recruitment. Director Lee also decided to join after agreeing with the direction Wavve is heading.

In particular, Director Lee, who has built a solid fandom with well-made dramas, is considered the best fit to realize Wavve's genuine original content strategy. Wavve, which announced a 1 trillion KRW content investment plan, intends not only to inject production capital like competing OTTs but also to present a large-scale planning proposal first, thereby building a higher-quality original content lineup. A Wavve official explained, "We will not only select and invest in scripts brought by the industry but also plan content directly, place production orders, and focus investments," adding, "We plan at least two genuine original content works annually."

To this end, Wavve will establish a studio in the second quarter to oversee original content planning and development. Discussions are underway for planning and developing multiple works, including the tentative title "Tracer." "Tracer," which Wavve will release at the end of this year, tells the story of a protagonist who becomes a National Tax Service investigator and fights against capital and power. It can be described as the National Tax Service version of the drama "Stranger," which Director Lee previously produced. The script is written by Kim Hyun-jung, who wrote "Fabrication," and directed by Lee Seung-young, who directed "Voice 2."

◇ Becoming the Best Platform for K-Content

Wavve aims to become the "best platform for K-content" based on its unique content competitiveness. In an environment inevitably disadvantaged compared to global OTTs like Netflix with massive capital, Wavve plans to focus on creating original killer content. Through this, it aims to target the global OTT market. Currently, Wavve is discussing partnerships with domestic and international media companies to build a global business foundation.

This move is driven by the sense of crisis that global OTTs such as Netflix, which surpassed 10 million domestic users (as of the end of February), have virtually dominated the domestic platform market. During the same period, Wavve had 3.95 million users, TVING 2.65 million, and Watcha 1.39 million, numbers that are overwhelmingly lower. Wavve believes that for domestic OTTs to survive, advancing into the global market with K-content is essential.

In the second half of the year, another OTT giant, Disney Plus, is also set to enter the Korean market. Ahead of its service launch, Disney Plus recently stopped supplying Disney content to Wavve, Watcha, and Season.

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