"Like Netflix, We Also Diversify Distribution Methods with 'OTT Pre-release'"

Tracer to Air on MBC on the 26th
Season 2 Fully Released Earlier on Wavve
Tving's Aggressive 'Tving Only' Strategy
TV Early Release and Simultaneous Broadcasts Disrupt Norms
The Changing Landscape of TV Production Driven by Netflix

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Following Netflix, domestic online video services (OTT) are increasing their self-produced content, leading to a rise in experiments with a new distribution method called 'OTT pre-release followed by TV broadcast.'

According to industry sources on the 24th, the eight episodes of Season 2 of the Wave original drama 'Tracer' will be sequentially broadcast on MBC starting from the 26th. This was first released on Wave on the 18th using a 'binge-watching' format.

Some critics argue that releasing content first on OTT has 'cooled down TV viewers,' but 'Tracer' was originally a project handled from planning to investment by Studio Wave, a subsidiary of Content Wave. Since various factors such as the recoupment structure during production and the preferences between programs and viewers must be considered, the conventional belief that 'TV should air first or simultaneously' is being challenged. Wave has continued such experiments, for example, by releasing the original work 'SF8' on Wave in July 2020 and then broadcasting it on MBC a month later.

The most aggressive OTT pre-release strategy in the market is pursued by Tving, a CJ ENM affiliate. Following the policy of CJ ENM Chairman Lee Jae-hyun, who views OTT as a future growth engine, Tving emphasizes 'Tving only' and maintains the Tving pre-release method. A representative example is the webtoon-based 'Work Later, Drink Now,' which achieved great success on Tving at the end of last year. Due to the program's unexpected popularity, a tvN channel slot, which was not discussed during production, was arranged. A Tving official said, "While the influence of TV broadcasts cannot be ignored in terms of word of mouth, the strategy is to firmly establish the perception that 'you must subscribe to Tving to watch it.'"

Netflix, Watcha, and others, which are free from equity relationships with terrestrial TV, also maintain OTT pre-release as the basic distribution method for original productions using their own IP. In Netflix's case, as original works gain word of mouth, they are actively selling video content to IPTV and other platforms.

As OTT influence grows, the production industry's landscape, where TV was the dominant distributor, is also changing. Son Seung-hyun, CEO of West World Story, said, "Unlike before, nowadays the hardest part is casting actors, so their demands must be actively reflected," adding, "Following the success of 'Squid Game' last year, more people aiming for global expansion prefer OTT if conditions are the same."

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