Coupang Play becomes first Korean streaming service to surpass 8M monthly users

Online streaming service Coupang Play surpassed 8 million monthly users for the first time for a domestic platform, mostly thanks to its exclusive partnerships with sports games.

Coupang Play has been livestreaming matches for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. [COUPANG PLAY]

Online streaming service Coupang Play achieved the milestone by surpassing 8 million monthly users for the first time among domestic platforms, primarily attributing this success to its exclusive partnerships with sports games.

Coupang Play saw 8.05 million monthly active users for its mobile app in January after steadily rising since October 2020, according to app analysis service WiseApp on Monday.

This is the first time for a domestic streaming platform to surpass the 8-million-mark, and the app's largest number of monthly users to date.

Netflix was once again Korean users’ most-used streaming app in January with 12.37 million users. Following Netflix and Coupang Play were Tving, Wavve and Disney+, with 5.51 million, 3.01 million and 2.77 million users recorded in January, respectively.

Coupang Play, a media company under online retail giant Coupang, has retained viewership largely due to its linked subscription with Coupang, which provides free access to the media platform to Coupang members.

The platform has also attracted a large amount of subscribers through its livestreaming of the ongoing AFC Asian Cup, which it holds exclusive streaming rights to along with Tving, and as the exclusive holder for ticketing for the upcoming 2024 MLB World Tour series in Seoul.

Hit original series, including the comedy show "SNL Korea," with season reboots available exclusively on the platform since 2021, also played a role. Coupang Play's most recent original drama series, “Boyhood” (2023), also ended on a high note in December, with viewership for the last two episodes having increased by 2,914 percent compared to viewership for its first week on-air.

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BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]