NEWS
CJ ENM sets up new OTT production studio; eyes acquisition of “top-tier” production companies & talent in bid to upsize multi-studio structure
05 April 2022
Korea’s entertainment conglomerate, CJ ENM, is setting up a studio dedicated exclusively to producing streaming content, the company said today, sparking off speculation about potential take-over targets as the new CJ ENM Studios eyes the acquisition of “top-tier production companies”.
The announcement coincided with a KOSDAQ online IR conference in which CJ said media production spend in 2022 would be KRW860 billion/US$709 million, and that new content would drive revenue growth.
The studios entity, led by biz dev/M&A specialist Yong Soo Ha as CEO, expands a content creation business currently housing Studio Dragon (“Crash Landing on You”, “Sweet Home”) and the recently acquired U.S.-based Endeavor Content, along with less high-profile drama producers Bon Factory (“What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim”) and JS Pictures (“Strong Girl Bong-soon”), and variety specialist, Studio Take One, among others.
CJ ENM, which also operates e-commerce, music and feature film divisions, said the multi-studio structure would “serve as one of CJ ENM’s core global competitiveness”.
CJ ENM also operates streaming platform Tving, which has been aggressively acquiring exclusive content rights and upped its ambitions for original production to between 40 and 50 productions for 2022.
The upsized targets coincide with Tving’s first play for audiences in the rest of Asia this year and international expansion in 2023.
Debuting in a global streaming landscape that can’t seem to get enough of Korean entertainment, the studio will “focus on OTT content production for a global audience and will cover a wide spectrum of different genres”.
In addition to growth through mergers/acquisition of “top-tier production companies”, the studio is on the hunt to attach “star talent/creators”, CJ ENM said this afternoon.
CJ ENM today described CJ ENM Studios, which will operate separately from its other production businesses, as “another basecamp for content produc...
Korea’s entertainment conglomerate, CJ ENM, is setting up a studio dedicated exclusively to producing streaming content, the company said today, sparking off speculation about potential take-over targets as the new CJ ENM Studios eyes the acquisition of “top-tier production companies”.
The announcement coincided with a KOSDAQ online IR conference in which CJ said media production spend in 2022 would be KRW860 billion/US$709 million, and that new content would drive revenue growth.
The studios entity, led by biz dev/M&A specialist Yong Soo Ha as CEO, expands a content creation business currently housing Studio Dragon (“Crash Landing on You”, “Sweet Home”) and the recently acquired U.S.-based Endeavor Content, along with less high-profile drama producers Bon Factory (“What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim”) and JS Pictures (“Strong Girl Bong-soon”), and variety specialist, Studio Take One, among others.
CJ ENM, which also operates e-commerce, music and feature film divisions, said the multi-studio structure would “serve as one of CJ ENM’s core global competitiveness”.
CJ ENM also operates streaming platform Tving, which has been aggressively acquiring exclusive content rights and upped its ambitions for original production to between 40 and 50 productions for 2022.
The upsized targets coincide with Tving’s first play for audiences in the rest of Asia this year and international expansion in 2023.
Debuting in a global streaming landscape that can’t seem to get enough of Korean entertainment, the studio will “focus on OTT content production for a global audience and will cover a wide spectrum of different genres”.
In addition to growth through mergers/acquisition of “top-tier production companies”, the studio is on the hunt to attach “star talent/creators”, CJ ENM said this afternoon.
CJ ENM today described CJ ENM Studios, which will operate separately from its other production businesses, as “another basecamp for content production”.
The company said today it expected revenue this year to reach KRW4.3 trillion/US$3.55 billion, from KRW3.6 trillion/US$2.97 billion in 2021, with full-year operating profit of KRW270 billion/US$222.
CEO Yong Soo Ha, previously CJ ENM EVP and head of business development & investment, has been involved with the CJ Group since 2009 in various roles, including head of corporate business strategy for the group and head of management support division (CFO) at CJ ENM.
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