[Click eStock] "Studio Dragon, Heading to the United States"

Daishin Securities "Maintain Studio Dragon Target Price at 130,000 KRW"
Potential Catalyst for External Growth through US Market Entry

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Studio Dragon has announced the acquisition of a project in the United States. Analysts suggest this could serve as a catalyst for external growth. Daishin Securities maintained a target price of 130,000 KRW and a 'Buy' rating for Studio Dragon.

According to Daishin Securities on the 10th, Studio Dragon has secured a series order for an Apple TV+ original drama. The title is "The Big Door Prize," consisting of 10 episodes, each 30 minutes long.

The production format involves co-producing with the US production company Skydance, with which Studio Dragon has established a partnership. Earlier this year, Studio Dragon formed a 50-50 investment and co-production collaboration with Skydance. This project will proceed based on that agreement. Kim Hoe-jae, a researcher at Daishin Securities, stated, "However, CJ ENM will not participate in this project," adding, "If the collaboration expands to various content forms such as animation and films in the future, CJ ENM's participation may be possible." CJ ENM is the parent company of Studio Dragon.

The exact production scale has not been disclosed, but the production costs in the US are known to be about ten times those in Korea. However, it should be noted that each episode of this project is 30 minutes long. Researcher Kim explained, "When supplying original dramas to online video services (OTT) like Netflix, there is a structure where a certain portion of the production cost is guaranteed as margin," and added, "This project was contracted under a similar structure, so additional revenue is expected."

Consequently, there are prospects that this could act as a catalyst for external growth. Researcher Kim said, "Although direct comparison is difficult, the per-episode production cost of US dramas is equivalent to the production cost of one Korean drama," and explained, "While the earnings forecast for this project has not yet been reflected, we plan to incorporate earnings estimates for US projects starting from the second half of next year when this drama airs."

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