Kocowa (stylized as KOCOWA) is an American online video streaming website headquartered in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
as a joint venture between the top three Korean broadcast networks:
KBS,
MBC and
SBS along with
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. S ...
, who co-founded in South Korea, to provide Korean entertainment including
K-dramas, K-reality, K-variety, and
K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
to the Americas and all with multi-language subtitles.
A subsidiary of wavve Americas, the name KOCOWA stands for Korean Content Wave. Launched in July 2017, it became the IP holder and content broker for its Korean programs to platforms such as Roku, Comcast, Prime Video, and others. In addition to streaming high-quality Korean content with premium subtitles on these platforms, they also offer access to the largest library of K-Dramas via their app.
History
The top three Korean broadcast networks,
KBS,
MBC and
SBS, consolidated their efforts to distribute content globally due to the rising demand for Korean content across the globe. In July 2017, KOCOWA launched its streaming services, making them accessible via smart TVs, web, and mobile.
Services
KOCOWA streams a variety of Korean programs ranging from TV series such as ''
School 2017
''School 2017'' () is a South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-hyun, Kim Se-jeong, Jang Dong-yoon, Han Sun-hwa, and Han Joo-wan. It aired on KBS2 from July 17 to September 5, 2017 every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 ( KST) for 16 episode ...
'' and ''
The King in Love
''The King in Love'' () is a South Korean historical drama directed by Kim Sang-hyeop with screenplay by Song Ji-na, Park Chan-kyung and No Sun-jae, based on the novel of the same name by Kim Yi-ryung. It stars Im Si-wan, Im Yoon-ah and Hong Jong ...
'', variety shows ''
Running Man'' and ''
Infinite Challenge
''Infinite Challenge'' (; abbreviated as ''Mudo'') is a South Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC, that ran from 2005 to 2018.
As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its timeslot; with ...
'', and K-pop
music programs including ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...
'' and ''
Music Bank World Tour
The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show ''Music Bank'' by the Korean Broadcasting System. The tour stages live performances, featuring multiple K-pop acts, in various locations outside of South K ...
'' up to six hours after being broadcast in Korea.
KOCOWA offers a Live Stream that centers around the platform's 3 main content categories: Music, Dramas, and Reality. This line-up of content gives users a variety of entertainment options to enjoy while interacting with others on the platform. If subscribers choose to stream on a desktop or laptop, they can chat with other k-drama, and k-pop fans in real time. Subscribers who speak English, Portuguese, or Spanish can participate in this interactive experience.
Business
KOCOWA is a subscription-based service offering a variety of plans from $0.99 per day, $6.99 per month, or $69.99 annually that provides full access to its programming without ads within six hours after being broadcast in Korea. Those who opt for the advertising-based plan can access new content after 24 hours of its release.
In August 2017, Viki announced a partnership with KOCOWA which allows its Viki Pass Plus subscribers to have additional access to KOCOWA programming without a separate subscription on KOCOWA
References
External links
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{{VOD services
Internet properties established in 2016
Companies based in Los Angeles
Korean-language mass media in the United States
tvOS software
Korean-American culture in Los Angeles