The Unsung Hero of 'K-Content' Glory, CJ ENM's Tenacity Recognized in Overseas Markets

Kang Ho-sung, CEO of CJ ENM, Inaugural Statement: 'Leap to a Global Content Company'
CJ ENM Sweeps Emmy Awards Following Academy and Tony Awards
Overseas Sales Share Grows from 20% to 44.5%, Transforming into a Global Content Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] "CJ ENM's goal is to become a 'global total entertainment company.' Some have expressed concerns that our goal is 'reckless.' However, CJ's proven content production capabilities will shine even brighter in the global market where national barriers have disappeared."

Kang Ho-sung, CEO of CJ ENM (pictured), declared the company's leap to a global content company as his first statement upon taking office in December 2020. Now, one year and nine months later, CJ ENM is leading the way as the 'vanguard of K-content,' having swept the Academy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. This is the result of expanding influence in the global market by acquiring Fifth Season (Endeavor Content) this year. Behind CJ ENM's achievements are the business insights of professional manager CEO Kang and the steadfast investments of the owner family, including Chairman Lee Jae-hyun and Vice Chairman Lee Mi-kyung. Notably, the U.S. International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences praised Vice Chairman Lee Mi-kyung as "a key figure in leading the industrialization and globalization of Korean popular culture."

Overseas sales ratio rises from 20% to 44.5%... Transforming into a global content company

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 14th, the overseas sales ratio of CJ ENM's entertainment division, which was around 20% at the end of last year, increased to 44.5% in the second quarter of this year. The overseas sales ratio of the media division rose from 36.8% in the first quarter to 43.3% in the second quarter, showing an upward trend. This is evidence that the sales structure is transforming from a 'domestic company' to a 'global company.'

The inclusion of Fifth Season and recognition as the 'vanguard of K-content' played a significant role. Fifth Season, which has bases in 19 countries worldwide including Europe and South America, boasts a strong in-house production system. It supplies more than 30 films and dramas annually. CJ ENM acquired Fifth Season for 930 billion KRW to directly produce and distribute content in the U.S. market. CEO Kang expressed confidence, saying, "The addition of Fifth Season will act as a core driving force for CJ ENM's global growth." Previously, the company also invested in Hyperreal, a digital human production company.

After acquiring Fifth Season, CEO Kang accelerated content production and supply targeting the North American market and global over-the-top (OTT) services. With Fifth Season's performance consolidated, sales have increased significantly. Since the U.S. content market is ten times larger than Korea's, the more Fifth Season increases its production volume, the faster CJ ENM's global sales growth is expected to be. CJ ENM has started joint development on more than 10 projects including films and dramas.

Fifth Season's Emmy Award win further engraved CJ ENM's name overseas. 'Severance,' produced with Fifth Season's participation, was nominated in 14 categories at the 74th U.S. Primetime Emmy Awards and won two awards: Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.

Winning 3 out of the 4 major global entertainment awards

CJ ENM has not only won the Emmy Awards but also the Academy Awards and Tony Awards, capturing three of the four major global entertainment awards, excluding the Grammy Awards. In 2020, director Bong Joon-ho's film 'Parasite' won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. 'Parasite' is regarded as a milestone for 'K-content.' Last year, the musical 'Moulin Rouge!' which CJ ENM co-produced, won 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and this year the musical 'MJ' won 4 Tony Awards. These achievements are interpreted as CJ ENM strengthening its global cultural competitiveness beyond borders. This is the result of persistent efforts toward global expansion since investing in the U.S. film production company DreamWorks in 1995.

CJ ENM continues to build partnerships with global major platforms and production companies, expanding distribution channels and collaborative content production to lay the foundation for global growth. On December 14 last year, CJ ENM launched a branded channel on Pluto TV, Paramount Global's OTT platform, and since July this year, it has been supplying CJ ENM content dubbed in Spanish to Vix, TelevisaUnivision's OTT. Last month, it also launched a branded channel on Peacock, NBCUniversal's OTT.

To accelerate global business, CEO Kang recently established the position of Chief Growth Officer (CGO) for global growth strategy and recruited Jung Woo-sung, a management leader from Fox Corporation. CEO Kang said, "Producing premium well-made content and distributing it worldwide is the core of CJ ENM's business," adding, "We will strengthen global competitiveness through a multi-studio system including Studio Dragon, CJ ENM Studios, and Fifth Season."

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