Wavve acquires Kocowa stake for $71 million

Wavve online streaming platform has bought a 40% stake in Korea Content Wave (Kocowa), a US-based video streaming specializing in K-content. The deal is worth KRW 90.1 billion or around $70. 62 million.

Wavve acquired the stake in Kocowa to bring more K-content to the growing market for this industry in North America. The latter is a joint venture between South Korea’s top three broadcast networks - KBS, SBS, and MBC - and SK Telecom.

It only streams Korean shows and programs with English and other language subtitles. It was first launched in July 2017, and fans in around 30 countries, including Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Brazil, enjoy the subtitled shows.

As per Korea Joongang Daily, programs that are streamed on Kocowa are also distributed by Google TV, Rakuten Viki, Comcast Xfinity, COX, Xumo, Amazon Prime Video, and Roku. It was mentioned that prior to the acquisition deal, all content on Wavve are not available overseas except for some territories in Southeast Asia. The shows are not available for streaming due to copyright issues.

But now that Wavve has entered into a deal with Kocowa, fans of webtoons can now watch their drama adaptations through the platform. Popular titles such as “Weak Hero Class 1,” “Cheer Up,” and “The Law Café” can now find them on Kocowa as well. A number of Kpop reality TV shows will also be available on the streaming site, Korea Economic Daily reported.

“We aim to establish a system which could create synergy between Kocowa and Wavve,” Lee Tae Hyun, Wavve’s chief executive officer, said in a press statement. “We are only at the starting point but our ultimate goal is to become the best K-content platform within the global market as quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile, Wavve announced that its board of directors has approved the stake acquisition of Kocowa, which means the negotiations had been smooth.