I think many of us have probably heard about the new big website that is going to be in competition with Viki.
I was wondering what we could expect to happen.
First this site is created by three majors channels of South Korea and it targets mostly South Korea itself and North America. Does this mean, the content from theses channels are going to be unobtainable at least for North America? Are all the licences, if ever acquired, going to be for European users ?
Will this possible lack of Korean dramas cause an increase of Chinese and Taiwanese dramas? Or even an increase of old K-drama and web-drama?
What do you think? I can’t wait to hear your opinion on that topic!
I did not take the time to really look into that site but I believe they do partnered up with Viki and the other site that should not be named. So who knows what will happen. If it becomes an American and Korea site only too region wise I think the rest of the world will be screwed because I do think this will have some impact on the licenses Viki gets.
All in all I think some things will change a bit in the near future…
Indeed, I’ve heard about a partnership, i’m just wondering how this will work. I pretty much think that this new website will probably get a lot of exclusives. Thus, maybe Viki will concentrate on other channels like OCN, TVN… ?
Yes, let’s hope it’s for the better and not for the worse.
Well I don’t see a real competition, if I only look at Korean dramas.
The 3 big Korean stations are cooking their own soup.
Let’s neglect the channels who did less than 15 dramas, so we are left with jtbc, Naver, OCN and tvN, there is a lot of content from those at viki, but some went also to the competitor …
Anyway those and viki’s original series put together are of course outnumbered by the production the 3 big ones create yearly.
More Chinese and Taiwanese dramas, we already experience this but the fans of these drama do not seem too happy either, because they say most of the dramas are not … let’s say are not hip enough .We see the same digging through K-dramas suddenly “new” fan-channel are surfacing … Was this an exchange deal? Will the dramas from the big 3 come long after they are broadcasted to viki? Then viki would lose it’s big perk, of fast access for viewers and timely subtitled dramas …
Of course in theory it would be possible to try Thailand, but I don’t know if we didn’t lose that part of the community a while ago. So would they come back? Or any other country’s dramas …
Honestly I don’t want to be in their shoes at the moment. As the vikians are eagerly waiting for a statement, about how a partnership with Kocowa will look like. But viki does not come around with any information that is sad enough. They just go on with business as usal …
At the end it all comes down to money.
Viki has to make decissions, maybe even unpopular ones. Who are we to “imagine”, how the business will develope. I surely hope the best since I live in Europe - viki is the only legal option we have here - and there is no way for any access to that new side here.
I experience quite some changes since I first used viki in 2009, over joining the community in 2010, taking a brek, because the handling of the volunteers by viki is not always that perfect …
So …
Expect?
As my granny always said: Expect the worst, hope for the best!
I looked at the new site yesterday. They had 4 episodes of The King Loves – but only two have already been broadcast in Korea. I’m really puzzled because we do have a viki “exclusive.”
Surely, it’s a way to attract new people, as they’re probably trying to build their new empire? I tried to see if perhaps episodes had been cut in 2 parts but one has to be signed up, and I don’t want so…
Still this means exclusive has a peculiar meaning for them. As @lutra said, it’s all about money and the contract they signed.
I think the elephant in the room is just how big Korean dramas are at attracting audiences compared to other regions. I don’t have a major preference (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai) but a lot of people do.
We don’t have direct video view numbers and I wouldn’t expect Viki or anyone else to publish them but I would suspect the Korean dramas and movies get the vast majority of all views.
I suppose they need to push hard to get dramas from the other Korean networks, try to produce original content through partnerships where they can. And then maybe try to build a fanbase (or attract it) for dramas from other regions (China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and other places).
They could try, of course, but this won’t change the fact that they will not have the ones people want.
For instance, in my case, I wouldn’t watch a Taiwanese or Thai drama unless they tie me to the chair and/or promise to pay me— a lot.
I also have stopped watching Chinese dramas, after many a valiant try because people kept nagging me. As for viki originals, most of the time they were pitiful (I watched The Miracle, Spark, Traces of the Hand!), therefore now even the mention makes me skip them.
So… if viki doesn’t have what I consider “the good ones” (which DO NOT include B-quality k-dramas from 2003-2006) I will simply go elsewhere. As simple as that.
Viki does have. 2 of my favourite. Chinese dramas… Love Me If You Dare and When a Snail Falls in Love…plus they aren’t dubbed so I feel more connected to the actors then when they use annoying voices that don’t fit the person or it is too high pitched for the women
