KISDI Assesses the Competitiveness of Korea’s Media Services and Proposes Strategies for Strengthening Their Global Competitiveness (detail)

※ URL(Korean): https://www.kisdi.re.kr/bbs/view.do?bbsSn=115066&key=m2101113055776&pageIndex=1&sc=&sw=

KISDI Basic Research (25-06): Competitiveness Analysis and Strategies for Strengthening Domestic Media Services in Response to the Expansion of Global Media Platforms

Key Findings
- 93.8% of experts view Korea’s media services as facing a crisis amid growing global competition.
- Experts rate the competitiveness of domestic media services at 54–70% of overseas paid OTT platforms.
- Users perceive the competitiveness of domestic paid OTT services to be 57–73% of Netflix.
- The report presents private-sector strategies and policy recommendations to strengthen competitiveness.

The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI, President Sangkyu Rhee) has published KISDI Basic Research (25-06), Competitiveness Analysis and Strategies for Strengthening Domestic Media Services in Response to the Expansion of Global Media Platforms. The report examines the current state of Korea’s media industry in response to the growing influence of global media platforms and proposes strategies to enhance the industry's long-term competitiveness.

The study evaluates the competitiveness of domestic media services in an environment where global media platforms such as Netflix and YouTube continue to expand their presence. It also identifies key challenges and policy priorities for strengthening the competitiveness of Korea’s media industry.

The findings indicate that Korea’s major media services are generally perceived as less competitive than global platforms and emerging media services.

Expert Survey Results

A survey of researchers and industry experts in the broadcasting and media sector (N=32) found that 93.8% agreed that Korea’s media services are facing a crisis due to increasing competition from global platforms. Using overseas paid OTT services as the benchmark (100 points), respondents rated the competitiveness of domestic media services as follows: paid OTT services (69.5), pay TV services (59.9), terrestrial broadcasting channels (57.7), and pay TV channels (53.5). These results suggest that domestic media services are perceived to possess only 54–70% of the competitiveness of overseas paid OTT platforms.

Paid OTT User Survey Results

A survey of paid OTT users (N=2,000) assessed the competitiveness of domestic and international paid OTT services using Netflix as the benchmark (100 points). The results were as follows: TVING (73.2), Coupang Play (71.4), Disney+ (67.6), Wavve (63.4), and Watcha (57.1). Overall, domestic paid OTT services were perceived to have 57–73% of Netflix’s competitiveness.

Respondents identified the following priorities for improving the competitiveness of domestic paid OTT services:

Expanding the quality and quantity of original content (33.2%)
Integrating content currently distributed across multiple domestic OTT platforms (19.9%)
Offering more reasonable pricing (16.1%)

Legacy Media User Survey Results

A survey of legacy media users (N=1,000) compared the competitiveness of other media services against paid OTT services (100 points). Respondents rated pay TV services (69.0), direct terrestrial broadcasting reception (58.5), free online video services (83.7), and social media-based video services (68.8).

The findings indicate that domestic legacy media services—including pay TV and terrestrial broadcasting—are perceived to be less competitive not only than paid OTT platforms but also than free online video services such as YouTube.

In addition, 53.8% of respondents reported that their live television viewing time had decreased over the past five years. The most frequently cited reason was that "there is now a much wider range of viewing options, such as YouTube and Netflix" (38.1%). Looking ahead, 45.0% expected their live television viewing time to decline further over the next five years.

Junseok KANG, Director at KISDI, stated, "To restore the competitiveness of Korea’s media industry and secure a sustainable growth path, service innovation by media providers must be complemented by a comprehensive regulatory and promotional strategy that supports both industry development and user protection."

To strengthen the competitiveness of domestic media services, the report recommends several private-sector strategies, including:

Securing original intellectual property (IP)
Achieving greater scale and economies of scale through media platform expansion
Expanding overseas market entry and global partnerships

The report also proposes several policy priorities for the government, including:

Reforming the regulatory framework for legacy media
Expanding policy finance and tax support
Establishing a fair competitive environment for domestic and global media providers

The full report is available for download on the KISDI website.

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KISDI Assesses the Competitiveness of Korea’s Media Services and Proposes Strategies for Strengthening Their Global Competitiveness