[Click eStock] "SBS, Focus on Potential Expansion of Distribution to OTT"

'Our Beloved Summer' Netflix Provision Concerns Partially Eased
"Cape Investment "Maintains SBS Target Price at 73,000 Won""

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] StudioS, a subsidiary of SBS, is expanding its distribution possibilities for global over-the-top (OTT) online video services. If StudioS conducts a pre-IPO (pre-initial public offering) investment round in the future, it is expected to secure more new distribution channels.

On the 13th, Cape Investment & Securities maintained its 'Buy' rating on SBS with a target price of 73,000 KRW. The closing price on the 10th was 46,950 KRW.

StudioS, which produced eight dramas this year, provided the series "Our Beloved Summer" to Netflix this month. This is StudioS's first mini-series level broadcasting rights sale to Netflix. SBS holds a 21.3% stake in the domestic OTT 'Wavve' and is one of its shareholders, which made it difficult to provide content to other global OTT platforms.

Park Hyung-min, a researcher at Cape Investment & Securities, said, "It was difficult to restrict content to other global OTTs, which became a potential undervaluation factor," but added, "This content supply is judged to have alleviated concerns to some extent."

After the expected pre-IPO next year, it is anticipated that the number of content distribution channels will further increase. Apple TV Plus (Apple TV+) and Disney Plus (Disney+) are representative potential suppliers during the expansion of the production lineup. Accordingly, StudioS's drama production is expected to increase from eight titles this year to more than twelve next year.

Meanwhile, Cape Investment & Securities estimated SBS's sales next year to increase by 8% from this year to 1.14 trillion KRW, and operating profit to rise by 9% during the same period to 249.2 billion KRW. Researcher Park explained, "With the value re-evaluation expected from StudioS's pre-IPO, business revenue from cash cow sources such as YouTube and Wavve, driven by the increase in cumulative subscribers, will grow steadily," adding, "The World Cup broadcast next year is expected to contribute profits similar to the Olympics."

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