With K-pop and K-television becoming more of a prominent form of entertainment internationally, especially in the United States, many video-on-demand (VOD) streaming sites catering to Korean content are investing in more exclusives. DramaFever, for example, co-produced three K-dramas since 2013: "Heirs" starring Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye, "Cantabile Tomorrow" starring Joo Won and Shim Eun Kyung, and most recently "My Secret Romance" starring Sung Hoon and Jieun of K-pop girl group Secret. As a matter of fact, Korean content is so much in high demand now even YouTube Red jumped on the bandwagon with "Run, BIGBANG Scout."
VOD streaming sites will continue to invest more in Korean content as long as it continuously grows in popularity.
The latest investment right now is by both Viki and Soompi. Teaming up with ZanyBros, they are releasing a new variety show featuring K-pop boy band UP10TION titled "UP10TION, Please!"
Hallyu news site and VOD streaming site team up with a legend in K-pop music videos
Soompi, Viki, and ZanyBros teaming up for the new original variety show was announced earlier this month. According to them, the show titled "UP10TION, Please!" will be an original K-pop variety series featuring the boy band who recently made waves at KCON 2017 New York, UP10TION.
[TEASER]
— UP10TION, Please! (@UP10TIONplease) June 29, 2017
"UP10TION, Please"
Bitto & Group
Coming soon on July 12: https://t.co/0tWPZJM7tH #UP10TION #UP10TIONPlease pic.twitter.com/5ZDaBxk0JC
Little is known of what "UP10TION, Please!" will be about.
However, fans – especially Hallyu journalists/writers and bloggers -- will have a chance to interact directly with members of UP10TION in the next few weeks. They'll be posting questions that will, in turn, impact the plot of the show.
As mentioned earlier, a legend in K-pop music videos will be the production house. Some may not know who ZanyBros are but their work is very popular.
They are the masterminds behind the music videos "Lion Heart" by Girls' Generation, "Overdose" by EXO, "Shock" by Beast (now known as Highlight), and "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2" by BTS. Their girth of work spans back to 2002.
The latest exclusive among many from the past and more in the future
Viki, which seems to have changed its name to include its adult company Rakuten to now be called Rakuten Viki, is considered one of the first, if not the first, VOD streaming site to truly bring Korean content (legally) internationally.
However, the game has changed for them as they now have some major competition to deal with. Ergo, they are doing their best to firstly score exclusives and secondly reach parts of the world others do not touch with Korean content. For the former, "Fight My Way" and the upcoming "The King in Love" will be exclusive to their platform during initial airing. As for the latter, they technically are available internationally but given their subtitles are crowdsourced, certain K-dramas lack them depending on the country.
Finally, Viki is co-producing shows now. Their first show "Dramaworld" received acclaim from fans. Last year, they partnered with Skybound to co-produce "Five Year!" From what is known, they have yet to co-produce a K-drama with any of the major Korean public or cable television networks.
Have a wish you'd like @UP10TION to fulfill? Tweet #UP10TIONPlease or email UP10TION@soompi.com, and your wish just might come true! pic.twitter.com/VwVIRQVTci
— UP10TION, Please! (@UP10TIONplease) June 29, 2017
Right now, UP10TION is taking requests of "having wishes fulfilled." They are receiving both tweets on Twitter with the hashtag #UP10TIONPlease and emails to UP10TION@soompi.com with wishes by K-pop fans, especially those who are part of the boy band's fan club HONEY 10.