Washington Post Publisher Will Lewis Steps Down After Layoffs 
Silver Prices Plunge in Asian Trade as Dollar Strength Triggers Fresh Precious Metals Sell-Off 
China Extends Gold Buying Streak as Reserves Surge Despite Volatile Prices 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
American Airlines CEO to Meet Pilots Union Amid Storm Response and Financial Concerns 
Fed Governor Lisa Cook Warns Inflation Risks Remain as Rates Stay Steady 
Prudential Financial Reports Higher Q4 Profit on Strong Underwriting and Investment Gains 
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports 
Sony Q3 Profit Jumps on Gaming and Image Sensors, Full-Year Outlook Raised 
Gold Prices Slide Below $5,000 as Strong Dollar and Central Bank Outlook Weigh on Metals 
Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape 
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target 
TSMC Eyes 3nm Chip Production in Japan with $17 Billion Kumamoto Investment 
Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal 
South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom 
RBI Holds Repo Rate at 5.25% as India’s Growth Outlook Strengthens After U.S. Trade Deal 
U.S.-India Trade Framework Signals Major Shift in Tariffs, Energy, and Supply Chains 
Netflix, Tving, and Wavve are some of the video streaming service providers in South Korea, and they are said to have been negatively affected by illegal streaming in the country. Coupang Play and other over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service providers are impacted as well.
According to The Korea Times, the local video streaming platforms are in distress because of Noonoo TV, which is said to be an unauthorized site that streams programs and shows from the leading OTT streaming platforms. Netflix, Tving and the others are subscription-based, where customers pay to view content; however, NooNoo TV is reportedly allowing people to view the same content for free.
As a result, the OTT video streaming service providers in the country are losing revenues. Officials in this line of business said that the illegal streaming of content is definitely a big stumbling block to the growing media industry in South Korea.
OTT streaming platforms said they had lost KRW4.9 trillion or about $3.7 billion because of the illegal site. Now to stop the unlawful practice, broadcasters, streaming service providers, and other media organizations have come together and formed an alliance. On March 9, they collectively filed a criminal complaint against Noonoo TV.
The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency acted fast after receiving the complaint and immediately launched an investigation. The BMPA is now looking into the copyright infringer. Moreover, an official in the OTT industry said that they are also cooperating with broadcasters, companies, and related government agencies to stamp out the illegal website.
"The illegal site is known to be serviced in the Dominican Republic. Even if telecom companies block the address of this service, their servers do not disappear, which means they can continue to provide this illegal service by simply changing their address," the spokesperson of one OTT company said. "The operators of this illegal service have to be arrested through a police investigation, so we are currently watching the progress of the investigation."
Meanwhile, EToday reported that the issue with illegal sites is a hot topic in the country today, and this is because OTT companies can’t block access to the sites as they often change their domain address to avoid crackdowns. In any case, Noonoo TV was estimated to have more than 10 million monthly active users now, and it closely follows Netflix with 12.57 million users.
Photo by: charlesdeluvio/Unsplash
