Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- South Korea's entertainment media giant CJ ENM joined hands with a major cable television system operator to launch a new over-the-top video streaming service in a strategic alliance aimed at competing with Netflix, the world's top video content service which has gained popularity among young people since its launch in South Korea in 2016.

CJ ENM said in a statement on Tuesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with JTBC to launch a new over-the-top (OTT) service next year by using intellectual properties of both companies. The new platform will be based on TVING, an OTT service operated by CJ ENM.

The alliance between CJ ENM and JTBC came a day before the official launch of "Wavve", an integrated OTT platform operated by three broadcasters -- KBS, SBS and MBC -- and the country's top mobile carrier SK Telecom.

Wavve plans to benchmark's Netflix's strategy of heavily investing in original contents and global businesses. Netflix, armed with exclusive original contents, has attracted young smartphone users who consume video content on the go in buses and subways.

Backed by South Korea's super-fast mobile network and a vast range of domestic and foreign contents, Netflix has attracted 1.84 million subscribers as of June this year, according to WiseApp, a smartphone app market research company.