Is there a way to separate dramas that are only available to Viki Pass Standard from Kocowa licensed ones? I’m asking because I see a lot of old dramas that were once available in Viki can now only be viewed with a Viki Pass Plus.
I’m wondering if there will be any programs left available to those who have the Viki Pass Standard. Since I have no intention of ever signing up for a Viki Plus Pass (I personally think it’s a rip off), I want to know if it is worth even keeping the Viki Pass Standard at all, since most of the old and new shows can no longer be viewed by me.
No offense to anyone, but I would appreciate an insightful response.
This link will bring you to the Help Center that might answer this question for you. Good Luck and I hope you get answers.
New partnership with KOCOWA TV - Open letter to viki
Hi Community, Thank you for your inquiries regarding the Viki and Kocowa partnership, and Viki Pass Plus. We hope that the following can answer some of your questions! Due to copyright, Viki Pass Plus content is currently available in North,…
You can also check out our blog and FAQs (Viki Pass Plus8, Contributor Perks & Benefits1)
If you have additional questions, please feel free to write in to the Help Center.
Thank you!
Well, Viki Pass Plus encompasses SOME shows produced by three broadcasting companies in Korea (KBS, SBS, and MBC). Yes, those three are the biggest ones, but they are by far not the only ones. Actually, my favorite channel (and I know others agree) is TvN, which fortunately isn’t part of Kocowa and I hope will never be.
The effect you’re currently seeing, of shows being once available on Viki and now they are not, is drastic because Kocowa needs to first form a good base and selection of shows for their initial subscribers. I believe from this point on, we will not be seeing such a drastic cut in content on Viki.
As before, some new shows being issued by the three Kocowa companies will be available on Viki and some will not. Some will be available perhaps a month after the show finished, leaving Kocowa with priority to show their own dramas first.
As to which new shows will be available to Viki Pass Standard subscribers and which to the Plus subscribers, I am not yet sure.
Thanks your reply is helpful. So I’m to adopt a wait and see approach?
Another question: if Kocowa is just for the big three networks, then why is Viki no longer licensing tVN, JTBC and OCN content? I know the alternative website (I won’t mention its name here) is rumored to have an exclusive with tVN, but I don’t see shows I want to watch in that site either like: Deserving of the Name, Woman of Dignity or Age of Youth 2. I’m curious to what is going on. Can’t Viki still feature cable network content and leave Kocowa to deal with the Big Three? This strategy they are adopting right now is off putting to a lot of their audience.
Viki And The-SIte-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named have always had a healthy competition regarding the content from various Korean networks. And as far as I know none have the exclusive right to any network’s content.
Each show costs money, and both Viki and the other site have to decide which shows they are willing to compete and pay for. Another site that has recently stepped up is Netflix, which is buying more and more k dramas.
Unfortunately content which can be found on either Viki or the other site is usually dramas that are hyped from the very beginning (even months before they start) and usually have very famous actors. The question why we aren’t served more high quality dramas is an old one and boils down to viewership. Dramas with famous faces, even though sometimes pure garbage, will have a higher rating than what I or you would consider quality dramas.