CJ ENM to entertain Peacock viewers in N.America

South Korea’s entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM Co. is set to provide K-content to viewers of Peacock, a streaming platform of US media and entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal Media LLC, in North America, expanding its global businesses.

CJ ENM, which holds copyrights of Academy Award-winning film Parasite, Cannes-winning movie Decision to Leave, and other famous Korean content, said on Tuesday it had launched CJ ENM Picks, its branded channel specializing in its movies, dramas and K-pop shows exclusively for users in the US and Canada.

“We expect the partnership with NBCUniversal to significantly expand contact with viewers in North America,” said a CJ ENM official, adding that Peacock is a major over-the-top (OTT) platform with 28 million active monthly users as of the first quarter.

The move was CJ ENM’s second deal to deliver its programs to overseas K-content fans in cooperation with a foreign OTT.

Last year, the Korean entertainment giant launched a branded channel for US audiences on the US's top free ad-supported streaming television platform Pluto TV of Paramount Global, formerly known as ViacomCBS. CJ ENM currently provides between six to eight new drama series and movies per month on Pluto TV.

“We can showcase our content through major OTT platforms in North America such as Peacock and Pluto TV,” said Seo Jang-ho, CJ ENM’s senior vice president for content. “We will do our best to produce more content for the world’s markets and strengthen the global supply.”

TO LAUNCH TVING IN THE US NEXT YEAR

CJ ENM aims even higher — by launching its own streaming service TVing in the US next year.

Korea’s homegrown OTTs such as TVing and Wavve have been providing services to overseas audiences through partnerships with top global players such as Paramount+ and HBO Max.

TVing launched services in Japan and Taiwan earlier this year.

“It is worthwhile trying to open an independent distribution network, given the strong K-wave around the world,” said an industry source.

Write to Hee-Kyung Kim at hkkim@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.