ReportKOCCA – Korea Creative Content Agency
2024 Analysis of OTT Usage Patterns and Content Consumption in Korea
1 Jan 20245 pages~7 min full read
Cost is the primary driver for subscription churn, with 61% of users citing usage fees as the main reason for cancellation and 31% specifically noting fee increases.
See it on page 5Content scarcity is a major retention risk, as 51% of respondents cancel subscriptions due to a perceived lack of worthwhile content.
See it on page 5Domestic dramas (48%) and OTT-produced originals (45%) dominate the South Korean market, accounting for the vast majority of viewing share.
See it on page 1OTT consumption is highly habitual, with 81.7% of users streaming content daily and an additional 16.3% accessing services at least once per week.
See it on page 2Viewing preferences show a sharp gender divide: 67.1% of women favor dramas, while men primarily consume entertainment programs (58%), sports (35.2%), and news (33.1%).
See it on page 3Secondary churn factors include limited viewing time (19%) and the conclusion of specific, favored series (18%).
See it on page 4The analysis evaluates South Korean over‑the‑top (OTT) video consumption, aiming to map content preferences, usage intensity, gender‑based viewing patterns, and drivers of subscription cancellation. It situates Korean OTT behavior within the broader online video market, drawing on multiple surveys conducted between June 2023 and November 2024 and covering a combined sample of roughly 3,200 respondents ranging from teenagers to adults in the 20‑59 age bracket.
Domestic dramas emerged as the leading content category, capturing 48 % of viewing share, closely followed by OTT‑produced originals at 45 %. Gender differentials were pronounced: 67.1 % of female respondents reported watching dramas compared with 41.5 % of males, while males favored entertainment programs (58 %), news (33.1 %) and sports (35.2 %). Overall engagement was high, with 81.7 % of users streaming at least once per day and an additional 16.3 % accessing services weekly, indicating entrenched daily consumption habits.
Cancellation motives clustered around cost and content scarcity. Sixty‑one percent of respondents cited the burden of usage fees as the primary reason to terminate a subscription, and 51 % pointed to a perceived lack of worthwhile content. Secondary factors included fee increases (31 %), limited viewing time (19 %), and the conclusion of favored series (18 %). These insights derive from data supplied by MezzoMedia, Gallup Korea, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Information Society Agency, and the Korea Creative Content Agency, employing structured questionnaires administered over defined survey windows. The findings underscore the importance of affordable pricing and fresh, locally resonant programming for sustaining OTT growth in Korea.
