Intellectual property management will be overseen from the U.S., with an eye toward bringing successful series to television or movie screens.
The American arm is slated to become the global headquarters this year, giving direction to local operations in South Korea, Japan and China. Naver is reorganizing its comics distribution to accelerate the company's worldwide expansion. Artists earn revenue based on the number of views, with annual income for the most successful running into the six figures in dollar terms. Webtoon, whose vertically scrolling comics are ideal for a mobile-first audience, features works by creators from not only South Korea and Japan, but also the U.S. The site had 62 million monthly active users as of the end of March, with more than 10 million in North America alone, according to Naver. Naver Webtoon, an online comics publishing portal, is particularly promising. Naver's V Live and Webtoon platforms have attracted tens of millions of users. and Europe and sees plenty of room to grow.
The South Korean company's post-Line strategy abroad rests on content distribution, for which it is already building a base in the U.S. The segment has been bleeding red ink, owing largely to heavy investment in mobile payments. Though the app took off in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and a few other markets, intense competition kept Line from gaining traction in the U.S. Until recently, Naver's overseas expansion revolved around Line, which generated nearly 40% of the company's revenue in 2019. The service had offered concert broadcasts on demand, but as the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of in-person concerts, V Live looked to online events, as seen in the Super Junior concert. The V Live app, which has been downloaded 85 million times amid the Korean Wave of pop culture, connects K-pop fans worldwide with their favorite stars.
With long-term prospects looking limited at home, Naver is counting on its content business to develop a larger audience overseas. As more celebrities and K-pop artists use online video platforms to communicate with fans, collaborative and strategic support is needed from not only artists and entertainment companies but also from platform operators to enhance K-pop's global reach.This fall, Line will merge with SoftBank Group company Z Holdings, parent of Yahoo Japan, in a deal that will leave Naver searching for a new growth driver. The study found that high popularity and fan engagement rates are influenced by K-pop artists' video uploads and the support from V Live and entertainment companies. By examining factors related to K-pop artists, the artist's V Live activities, and V Live support factors, the study examines 289 K-pop artists' V Live channels using hierarchical regression analysis. This study specifically focuses on a niche K-pop video platform, V Live, to investigate the factors that contribute to the artists' V Live channel success. Video platforms are important as they enable artists to communicate directly with fans through live videos and encourage grassroots participation from fans. Among various factors that contribute to K-pop's global appeal, this study focuses on social media, particularly online video platforms. Korean pop music, commonly referred to as “K-pop,” is a genre that is gaining significant visibility and attention from global listeners.