Korea’s antitrust watchdog conditionally approves Tving-Wavve merger

South Korea’s antitrust regulator has conditionally approved the merger between Tving and Wavve, the country’s two over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on Tuesday that it had reviewed the merger filing submitted by Tving and Wavve and made the decision accordingly.

The final integration of the two OTT services is expected to accelerate, with the approval allowing for cross-appointments of executives between the two companies.

The KFTC, however, noted that the merger could limit competition in the domestic OTT market and therefore imposed corrective measures.

It raised concerns that eliminating individual service packages in favor of a bundled product could reduce the number of top OTT services in Korea from four (Netflix, Tving, Coupang Play, and Wavve) to three, increasing the potential for price-setting power.

Users will be able to continue using Tving and Wavve’s current subscription plans as they are until December 2026.

If the two services are fully integrated, the KFTC has mandated the launch of a new subscription plan that is similar in price and features to existing plans, to be maintained until December 31 of next year.

Existing subscribers can continue using the same plan even after the merger, and if they cancel but re-subscribe within one month, they will be able to select their original plan again.