[Herald Interview] Boosted by BTS and K-pop, Naver's V Live challenges YouTube



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As global K-pop fans flocked to YouTube last week to watch BTS's new "Boy With Luv" video, the band celebrated the release of their new album with a special event for loyal fans of the band. whole world.

This was a live broadcast from New York, where the BTS discussed the new album "Map of the Soul: Persona" with global army fans of the BTS. The event preceded the long-awaited performance of the group on "Saturday Night Live" alongside host and actress "Spider-Man" Emma Stone.

Streamed on Naver's V Live Friday at midnight, Seoul time, the "BTS Comeback Special" set a record for the South Korean streaming platform. About 9.38 million people watched the one-hour show and fans sent about 870 million emojis to the heart – the equivalent of "I like" Facebook. "

" It was the first time since the release of the album that the BTS was pbading Hello to their global fans, "said Saturday the Korea Herald Han Ah-reum, who heads Naver's business affairs department. V Live.

"The event was of course designed by the members of the BTS and their agency. But we are the ones who executed the plans with streaming services. … Even the date has been chosen carefully to coincide with the night of Friday in Seoul. "

Han Ah-reum, head of the business department at Naver V Live. Naver

While Han and his team had been launching similar broadcast events in recent years, every time BTS released new albums, the recent worldwide success of the boys' group made the issue more important than ever.

It was important to ensure that live broadcasting reaches its global audience without any problem. When BTS released its new album, there had been complaints about a connection problem with the Korean Melon streaming music streaming app.

Transparent translation was also crucial because group members usually spoke Korean. The need for sophisticated translation services has increased because global fans want to capture every word spoken by their beloved stars.

"We have a dedicated team (providing) translation services for the V Live broadcast," Han said. "Although it's not 100% perfect, we are working on it. […]

Since 2015, when BTS began providing content on Naver's V Live, approximately 13 million users have subscribed to the BTS channel of the platform. According to Han, about 1,000 channels operate on V Live and about 60% focus on K-pop content.

While BTS and K-pop in general are the main drivers for V Live's growth as a global platform, it's a tough challenge, as YouTube and Twitter are starting to look at K content. -pop as a new source of income.

Given the fierce competition on K-pop platforms, Mr. Han stated that Naver's advantage is its ability to deliver tailored content to its target audience. With a strong commitment to local entertainment companies, the Korean technology giant can understand who the fans are and what they want, Han said.

"V Live's competitiveness lies in its ability to create fan bases and keep them constantly growing," Han said. "Although YouTube delivers content faster, we transform it better into sophisticated content."

"If we have a significant advantage over global platforms, we can speak the same language as companies in the world. entertainment. […] They trust our ability to achieve something that they have imagined only by themselves, "she added.

According to Han, about 85% of V Live subscribers come from abroad. Indonesia tops the list, with Korea ranking second. She also stated that 82% of V Live users were women aged 20 and 67% of all users under 24 years of age.

According to this badysis, Han stated that V Live plans to develop content that will appeal to more targeted young women. on Indonesia – a country where the concept differs little between celebrities and influencers.

"We are focusing this year on the Indonesian market," Han said. "What we mean by" star "in South Korea can mean different things in Indonesia. The famous YouTube broadcasters can enjoy the same fame as the pop singers. "

BTS. Big Hit Entertainment

To reinforce its engagement with global fans, V Live has the latest premium service called Fanship. The service was launched last month with the participation of five K-pop stars: Stray Kids, Sunmi, Chungha, Kard and Momoland.

The idea behind Fanship is to let the stars manage their own fans and offer exclusive benefits. Fanship subscribers can purchase concert tickets before they are sold to the general public. They also enjoy exclusive opportunities to participate in various activities with the stars.

While helping Korean entertainment companies broaden their business opportunities, Fanship has also offered international fans unique opportunities to interact with K-pop stars that they adore, Han said. .

The bases were quite dispersed. After creating (and starting) fan clubs on one platform, they moved to another place to create their fan communities. "

According to Han, Fanship also allows young K-pop stars to promote themselves to an international audience." For example, there were no official fan clubs for Sunmi and Chungha before the launch of Fanship

The service operates on subscription, with different price tags depending on the duration and specific benefits.A basic subscription is 4,400 won (US $ 3.84) per month, and a premium subscription of 66,000 won a year.

While Southeast Asian fans may be reluctant to subscribe to paid services due to lack of Internet infrastructure, Han said that the company was confident that it could also establish itself in this region, given the value of premium content.

"Of course, one could argue that it is unfair to charge the same amount in countries where prices and infrastructure are different, for example, the United States is and the Philippines have totally different Internet and telecom environments, "Han said.

"But I think it will eventually depend on the quality of the content. As we have not contested the fact of spending money on concert DVDs of the K-pop stars, I think people will realize (why it makes sense to pay) to d & # 39; 39, valuable content. "

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