[Click eStock] "Finally Entering the US Market... Studio Dragon Goes Further"

Announcement of Comedy Series Supply to Apple TV+
1-2 Releases Expected Within the Year... Sales Scale Up↑

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Studio Dragon's overseas expansion is becoming tangible. Analysts suggest that if it establishes itself in the U.S. market, its sales scale could rise to the next level.

On the 1st, Daishin Securities maintained its 'Buy' rating and target price of 130,000 KRW for Studio Dragon based on this background. The previous day's closing price was 98,100 KRW.

Studio Dragon, together with Skydance, secured a comedy series for Apple TV Plus. The work, titled "The Big Door Prize," is based on a bestselling novel. David West Read, who won an Emmy for "Schitt's Creek" in Canada, joins as writer and producer. Studio Dragon's U.S. subsidiary and Skydance are co-producing the series, which consists of 10 episodes of 30 minutes each.

Domestic dramas typically consist of 16 episodes of 60 to 70 minutes each, whereas U.S. dramas are structured as seasons with 10 to 20 episodes of 30 to 60 minutes each. The first season serves as a pilot project. Kim Hoejae, a researcher at Daishin Securities, explained, "Receiving a series order means that after evaluating the performance of season 1, contracts for subsequent seasons are naturally extended. It is difficult to receive a series order initially, but once the pilot project starts, seasons 2 to 3 usually proceed smoothly."

Earlier, Studio Dragon announced in its Q1 earnings report that it is conducting 18 projects in the U.S., both independently and jointly. This project is the first of them. It is expected that one or two additional projects may be disclosed within the year.

With this entry into the U.S. drama market, Studio Dragon's sales scale is expected to grow to the next level. Although direct comparison is difficult, the production cost per episode of U.S. dramas is comparable to the production cost of an entire Korean drama. Researcher Kim said, "Therefore, a project consisting of 10 episodes with a production cost of 10 billion KRW per episode, if conducted five times a year with only season 1 each, would match Studio Dragon's sales last year. From the second half of 2022, when this work begins airing, we plan to reflect earnings estimates for projects underway in the U.S.," he explained.

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