The number of paid users on Naver Webtoon has decreased by about 300,000 over the past year.
According to the quarterly report submitted by Webtoon Entertainment, Naver Webtoon’s parent company, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 18, the number of monthly paid users (MPU) in South Korea during the second quarter of this year was 3.7 million, a 7.3% decline from 4 million in the same period last year. MPU refers to users who pay to view paid content each month.
The average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) also dropped. In the second quarter of this year, South Korea’s ARPPU was $7.50 (about 10,280 won), a 9.9% decrease from $8.30 in the same period last year.
As a result, revenue from paid content in South Korea fell by 16.5%, from $105.3 million in the second quarter of last year to $83.94 million this year. Webtoon Entertainment attributed this to currency exchange fluctuations, but even when adjusted for the same exchange rate, the ARPPU for the second quarter this year ($7.90) was 2.5% lower than the $8.10 recorded in the same period last year.
The number of monthly active users (MAU), a key metric for platform services, also declined by around 7%. The MAU in South Korea decreased from 24.8 million in the second quarter of last year to 23.2 million this year.
In a recent shareholder letter, the company explained that the decline in active and paid users in South Korea was “due to delays in platform product improvements.” They emphasized that user engagement is improving with the rollout of the personalized artificial intelligence recommendation model, and that MPU numbers are progressively improving each month.
This article was originally published on Aug. 18, 2024.
