"It is time to invest the K-OTT platform", Kunhee Park, ceo of Kocowa(wavveAmericas)

Kunhee Park, CEO of Kocowa(operated by wavveAmericas), the global only and best K-content streaming platform, was interviewed by Korea's leading IT newspaper, ‘’The ETNEWS’(웨이브아메리카스 “K콘텐츠 담는 그릇 K-OTT 플랫폼도 육성해야” - 전자신문 (etnews.com))

In the interview, "There is a situation where K-content is not being sold to global platforms and is unfortunately not being introduced properly. It is time to invest the K-OTT platform."

"Government policies have been focused on fostering businesses that produce quality content," said Kunhee Park, CEO of WavveAmericas. "We hope that policies will come out that will provide practical support for the K-OTT platform."

Take away for the article

The development of K-OTT platforms is crucial for global promotion and sales of K-content.

• Global platforms are inadequately promoting and selling K-content, necessitating the creation of dedicated K-OTT platforms.
• Kunhee Park, CEO of Wave Americas, underscores the importance of government policies that support high-quality content production.
• Institutional support is essential for the success of K-content in the international market.
  

The expansion of K-OTT platforms globally, such as Wave Americas' 'Kocowa,' demonstrates the potential of Korean content.

• WavveAmericas operates 'Kocowa' in 73 countries, providing a valuable distribution network for K-content.
• Kocowa has nearly 1 million paying subscribers, with over 90% being local users.
• The platform's owner structure includes major TV broadcasters and SK Square, enhancing its foundational strength.
• CEO Park's 'Brand Everywhere' strategy expanded North American accessibility through various partnerships

The introduction of 'Keytalk AI' enhances user engagement and reduces operational costs.

• The introduction of 'Ketok AI' enhances user engagement and reduces operational costs.
• 'Keytalk AI' uses generative AI for effective keyword generation, enhancing content discovery satisfaction.
• This AI-based search function expects to substantially reduce platform operation costs based on the AI engine's training level.
• Park highlights that 'Keytalk AI' allows subscribers to achieve new levels of content engagement.

full sentence

"K-content is not being sold to global platforms and is unfortunately not being introduced properly. It is time to foster the K-OTT platform."

"Government policies have been focused on fostering businesses that produce quality content," said Kunhee, Park CEO of Wavve Americas.

"We hope that the government will come up with policies that will provide practical support for the K-OTT platform."

WavveAmericas operates K-content global distribution platform Kocowa in 73 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Ireland, and Spain.

WavveAmericas is based on Korea Content Platform (KCP), which was founded in Los Angeles in 2016 by the three major TV networks (KBS-MBC-SBS).

KCP launched its OTT platform Kocowa in 2017 with the goal of providing a subscription model based on Korean content in overseas markets. KCP changed its name to WaveAmericas after SK Square's equity investment in 2021, and in 2022, Korean local OTT Wavve became the majority shareholder with a 40% stake.

"Kocowa, an OTT composed of 100% K-content, is playing a weak role as a buffer to protect the value of K-content in a difficult global content market," said Park, adding, "We need to foster not only content but also platforms."

Kocowa has nearly 1 million paid subscribers. Over 90% of its subscribers are non-Koreans. It is in the black. Park's "brand everywhere" strategy has been effective.

"Our company-wide partnerships with Google, including Google Search and Google TV, as well as collaborations with platforms in the U.S. such as Amazon Prime Video, Roku, The Roku TV, Comcast, Rakuten Viki, On Demand Korea, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Smart TV, and Apple TV, have expanded Kocowa's accessibility to North American users," Park said.

Kocowa provides leading drama and entertainment content from three TVl broadcasters and 35 studios across the globe, with ultra-fast translation to complete OTT content production in Korea within five hours of the original broadcast. It supports subtitles in five languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.

Recently, it introduced Keytalk AI, a generative AI-based search function. Many global platforms still rely on manual keyword generation.

"Subscribers will be able to go beyond basic recommendations to a new level of engagement and content discovery satisfaction with AI Talk," said Mr. Park.

"It will reduce the huge platform operation cost and effort required to generate keywords for Enrich Metadata, which is the link between multiple services, based on the level of the trained AI engine."