April 5, 2024

Give and Receive: Korea’s Kocowa+ Expands While BBC Kids Launches in Korea

Kocowa+ continues to expand into Europe and Oceania, while BBC Kids will bring its programmes, dubbed in Korean for the first time, into South Korea. By Ching Wai.

South Korea - Kocowa+, South Korea’s K-entertainment subscription streamer, has continued with its expansion into 39 territories in Europe and Oceania. Around the same time, BBC Studios announced plans to launch its kids streamer for children’s TV, BBC Kids, in South Korea, for the first time.

Kocowa+ is a joint venture company formed by KBS, MBC and SBS, SK Square Americas and Content Wavve. It is already available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil. It offers a Korean content library of 30 000 hours, subtitled in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. The curated feature, KocoCraves, provides live viewing parties and selected fan favourite content, encouraging engagement. Basic access costs €6.99 (6.99 USD) monthly while premium costs €7.99 (7.99 USD) monthly.

The launch comes with Europe being recently named a fast-growing market for Korean content, with 13.2 million fans, according to reports. KunHee Park, CEO and CPO, Crossfunctional of Kocowa+, said, “As we introduce our unique brand to new subscribers, we are excited about our ability to understand what the audience wants so that we can create customised experiences for them based on their preferences to enable them to discover, connect and enjoy everything our platform has to offer.”

At the same time, BBC Kids will be available on KT’s Genie TV Kids Land. Content includes over 300 episodes of English and Korean-dubbed programmes. Monthly subscription with unlimited access to the programmes costs 5 000 KRW (3.70 USD) for Genie TV customers. The streamer is already available in the U.S., Australia, Taiwan, South Africa and India.

BBC Studios’ launch comes as the company aims to expand commercially. Phil Hardman, SVP and General Manager of BBC Studios Asia, said, “BBC Kids continues our commitment to fostering early childhood development through this engaging and enriching content designed specifically for children. We’re confident that there is something for every family in the wide range of content we are making available on KT in both English and Korean.”

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