'Squid Game' Fuels Netflix's Dominance in South Korea's Booming Streaming Market: Report

Streaming giant Netflix Inc NFLX continues to lead the premium streaming market in South Korea with impressive growth in 2024. However, the domestic platform Tving almost matched Netflix’s market share.

Korean audiences streamed 131 billion minutes of premium VOD content last year, up  18%, Variety cites the data from Media Partners Asia.

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Netflix retained its dominance with a 35% viewership share, but Tving reached a 34% share, up by 10 points. Together, the two streaming firms accounted for 70% of premium VOD viewership and 80% of new subscriptions in 2024.

In the fourth quarter, Netflix secured 39% of viewership, backed by “Squid Game,” “Culinary Class Wars,” and licensed titles.  Netflix’s partnership offering free, ad-supported viewing to Naver Plus members posed an additional tailwind.

Tving ended 2024 with 5.2 million subscribers, trailing Netflix’s 7.8 million Korean subscribers.

E-commerce giant Coupang Inc’s CPNG Coupang Play clocked 3.2 million subscribers, backed by its investments in local series and sports content.

Netflix stock surged over 80% in the last 12 months. It reported fourth-quarter revenue of $10.25 billion, up 16%, topping the Street consensus estimate of $10.11 billion.

The EPS of $4.27 beat the Street consensus estimate of $4.19.

Netflix added 18.91 million paid subscribers in the quarter, up 15.9%. The company ended the quarter with 301.63 million paid subscribers.

The average revenue per member was up 1%. Gary Black of the Future Fund LLC credited the performance to live sports strategy, including Mile Tyson–Jake Paul fight and Beyoncé’s Christmas show, original content, and price hike.

Netflix expects first-quarter revenue of $10.42 billion (below consensus of $10.50 billion) and EPS of $5.58 (below consensus of $5.72).

Netflix estimated 750 million+ broadband households, excluding China and Russia, with the streaming giant capturing ~6% of the $650 billion revenue opportunity in its four key geographical markets.

It expects to account for less than 10% of TV viewing in every country it operates in, implying a long runway for growth.

Bernstein’s Laurent Yoon projected upside for Netflix, citing potential from live events, sports broadcasting, and possible forays into Formula 1 racing and podcasting.

Netflix is a holding in 346 U.S.-traded ETFs. It has around 48.1 million shares in the U.S. ETF market. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF GGME and MicroSectors FANG ETNs FNGS.

Price Action: NFLX stock is down 2.22% at $1,035.13 at last check Tuesday.

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Squid Game Photo by DANIEL CONSTANTE on Shutterstock