TVING CEO Choi Joo-hee speaks at the TVING K-Ball Service presentation to commemorate the KBO League broadcast at CJ ENM Talent Studio in Sangam-dong, Seoul, on March 12, 2024./TVING

South Korean streaming service TVING is making significant strides against global giant Netflix, surpassing it in total daily hours watched for the first time. TVING’s user bounce rate was also lower than Netflix’s in April and May, marking a notable achievement in the Korean over-the-top (OTT) market.

The bounce rate, the percentage of users who did not return to the service after using it in the past month, indicates user engagement and loyalty.

(from left) Posters of Korean dramas ‘Queen of Tears,’ ‘Lovely Runner,’ ‘Marry My Husband.'/TVING

According to Mobile Index, an app analytics service, TVING’s bounce rate was 22.48% in April and 21.71% in May, compared to Netflix’s 23.83% and 22.48%, respectively. Netflix’s bounce rate increased from 15% in January last year to 20%, while TVING’s has declined.

Female viewers in their 20s and 40s were particularly drawn to the TVING this year, thanks to exclusive offerings like ‘Marry My Husband,’ ‘Lovely Runner,’ and other popular TV dramas. ‘Queen of Tears,’ also aired on Netflix, boosted TVING’s viewership from January through May.

TVING also led in average hours watched per user from February through May, averaging 12.13 hours in May compared to Netflix’s 9.77 hours. Although neither company discloses subscriber numbers, the gap is narrowing based on daily active users (DAUs). TVING’s average DAUs increased from 1.7 million in January to 1.9 million in May, while Netflix’s declined from 3.07 million to 2.35 million.

Starting in March, TVING’s exclusive online coverage of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) League significantly contributed to its subscriber growth. New app installs surged from 470,000 to 710,000 in March alone, and TVING outperformed Netflix in new installs from January through May.

(from left) Posters of Korean series ‘A Killer Paradox,’ ‘Parasyte: The Grey,’ and ‘The 8 Show.'/Netflix

Despite a seemingly slow year for Netflix, the platform released several stylish Korean genre shows, including ‘A Killer Paradox,’ ‘Parasyte: The Grey,’ and ‘The 8 Show,’ along with international series like ‘3 Body Problem.’

In Korea, however, the first half of the year was dominated by romance dramas, leading to increased TVING subscribers. TVING’s strategy includes leveraging content from CJ ENM affiliate tvN. Dramas like ‘Marry My Husband,’ ‘Queen of Tears,’ and ‘Lovely Runner’ were supplied to TVING, contributing to its success. On May 28, when the final episode of ‘Lovely Runner’ was released, TVING’s total viewing hours (2.5 million hours) surpassed Netflix’s (2.41 million hours) for the first time.

Industry experts believe Korean OTT services must compete with global OTTs by investing heavily in content. The question remains whether TVING can maintain its momentum without the baseball coverage and hit shows.