Watcha to Expand Scope of Its Streaming Activities

CJ ENM’s streaming service TVING has induced an additional KRW 250 billion (USD 206.5 million) in financing as it continues to expand its production slate and audience reach.

With this new cash injection, TVING’s enterprise value has risen to KRW 2 trillion (USD 1.64 billion), approximately six times higher than what its valuation was only last summer. The quick rise in the company’s financial clout is indicative of the confidence in TVING’s future, as it looks to increase its subscriber base in Korea and soon overseas through a large library of original productions and deals with major international partners such as Viacom and its Paramount Plus subsidiary.

TVING is the streaming home for series that air on cable networks tvN and OCN, both also CJ ENM subsidiaries and JTBC, though the service is also increasingly investing in TVING originals which it carries exclusively. The service is aiming to have produced 100 different pieces of content by 2023, at which point it anticipates commanding eight million subscribers as a global service active in countries such as Japan, Taiwan and the United States.

Watcha, another of Korea’s top streaming services, is expanding the scope of its online activities, as its platform is set to begin hosting music and webtoons, in addition to the dramas and films it already services.

Executives made the announcement during a recent ‘2022 Watcha Media Day’ event, during which they also outlined their plans to present 20 original series and other exclusive content as they build into ‘Watcha 2.0’.

Watcha is steadily building its service and has big ambitions for the future, as they stated a goal to reach 100 million subscribers by 2030. The service is currently operational in Japan, and further international expansion is currently being planned.