Netflix has signed a multi-year content distribution agreement for high-quality Korean TV series with JTBC Content Hub which is the content arm of South Korean media company JTBC.
The partnership, which will kick off in 2020, will give Netflix the ability to stream JTBC’s prime-time TV dramas across more than 190 countries. In addition, the new partnership between the two media companies will open the doors to co-developing and showcasing JTBC’s prime-time TV dramas globally. The pairing will also present and optimize JTBC’s upcoming series.
The deal furthers strengthens the relationship between JTBC and Netflix. In April 2017, the two companies entered into an international licensing agreement for JTBC’s library of 600 hours of scripted and unscripted TV shows. Since then, JTBC’s shows have been proven successful amongst global fans including SKY Castle, Something in the Rain, Life and My Country: The New Age.
The new partnership is ideal considering the global interest for Korean culture and Lorean dramas have been growing. “Made in Korea” stories have a tremendous amount of diversity and depth and have been reaching audiences in Asian and beyond. After launching in Korea in 2016, Netflix is looking to collaborate with local creative communities and partners including JTBC.
To add to the Korean content on the streaming giant, earlier this week, Netflix signed a production and distribution agreement with Korean media outfit CJ ENM and its subsidiary Studio Dragon, one of the country’s leading series producers. In September, Netflix ordered a batch of new Korean originals including the supernatural action drama The School Nurse Files, sci-fi romance My Holo Love, the stand-up series Park Narae: Glamor Warning as well as the second season of the original drama Kingdom.