The Netflix Effect Chills Foreign Content Creators
Producers and governments grapple with the mixed blessings of the world’s leading provider of premium streaming video.
The logo of Netflix, producer of the hit series Squid Game, beyond a South Korean flag in Seoul.
Credit: Anthony Wallace/ AFP/ Getty ImagesDespite a wave of international interest in South Korean film and television, the stock prices of many of the country’s production companies have been in a slump. Shares of Studio Dragon Corp., one of South Korea’s largest producers, have plunged about 25% this year despite the company having produced The Glory, one of Netflix Inc.’s most popular titles, while Korea’s stock benchmark has risen 10% over the same period. CLSA Securities Korea downgraded Studio Dragon in May, citing concerns about its “insufficient bargaining power.”
The problem, as some people in South Korea’s entertainment industry see it, is the overwhelming importance of a single channel to distribute their content. “As a studio and as a producer, I’m a little concerned that Netflix has been the only channel global audiences can watch Korean series on,” says Jeongin Hong. Hong’s firm, SLL, signed a multititle licensing deal with Netflix soon after the streaming service made its debut in South Korea in 2016, then went on to produce some of its biggest hits, including All of Us Are Dead, the fourth-most-watched non-English language series in Netflix’s history.