Viu clinches regional deal with CJ ENM on highly anticipated Korean romance drama series Encounter, starring Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum
Continues its streak of offering the most extensive premium
Korean dramas and variety shows across Asia
Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service by PCCW Media Group, announces a regional deal with South Korea’s entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM on the highly anticipated new romance K-drama series Encounter, acquiring its exclusive OTT rights in Asia. The drama will be premiered on November 28, 2018 in Korea and will be streamed on Viu in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, fully subtitled in local languages and as fast as four hours after telecast in Korea.
Produced by Korea’s top drama production house, Studio Dragon, a subsidiary of CJ ENM, which has made numerous hit series including What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Goblin and Bride of the Water God, Encounter boasts an all-star team with a renowned cast, director and script writer. The lead actress and actor of Encounter are prominent hallyu (“Korean wave”) celebrities Song Hye Kyo, best known for her leading role in the pre-eminent series Descendants of the Sun, and Park Bo Gum, famous for Reply 1998 and Love in the Moonlight. Helming the show is director and producer, Park Shin Woo, who also directed Jealousy Incarnate, as well as script writer Yoo Young Ah, from My Annoying Brother, Bel Ami and Entertainer.
Ms. Janice Lee, Managing Director of PCCW Media Group, said, “Our strategic collaboration with CJ ENM has grown since the launch of Viu to now cover 13 markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Our collaboration brings the best quality and most popular Korean productions from CJ ENM to our highly engaged fans. Bringing Encounter to our Viu-ers in the region is an example of our commitment to offering the best and most extensive Asian content, including Korean, Japanese and Chinese content as well as Viu Original that we produce in local languages in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, India and Hong Kong. With extensive content offerings, the video views on our platform have more than doubled to 1.2 billion in the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year.”
Encounter is a gripping romance between Cha Soo Hyun (Song), an unhappy daughter of a prominent politician and the ex-wife of a conglomerate’s heir, and Kim Jin Hyuk (Park), who lives an ordinary life. Their fateful meeting marks the start of a love story that will rock their lives to the core.
Mr. Chul-yeon Kim, Senior Vice President of CJ ENM, said, “Since our collaboration with Viu started in 2015, we have been working closely to expand the offering of our quality content in the region. As a platform for Korean content with the most current and signature titles including both drama and variety shows, Viu is a great and effective partner to reach out to overseas audiences. Viu’s express subtitling, on-ground marketing and publicity as well as its fan insights in each market via its big data and experience allow our programs to access larger audiences through its highly engaged platforms. We appreciate Viu for its proactive local promotion to raise the profile of our shows.”
Korean drama fans eagerly anticipate Encounter’s premiere on Viu as the series marks Song Hye Kyo’s first project after her marriage to Song Joong Ki, and also Park Bo Gum’s first drama appearance in almost two years.
Ms. Helen Sou, Senior Vice President, Digital Media, PCCW Media Group, said, “Korean drama remains a top favourite among Asian viewers. Viu’s content collaborations with the top five Korean broadcasters — CJ ENM, KBS, MBC, SBS and JTBC — enriches and differentiates our content offerings, giving us an exclusive window to close to 90% of their latest simulcast dramas every year^. Since 2015, our collaboration with CJ ENM has expanded from drama to variety shows and tvN movies. Our content offering will continue to become more extensive, considering our simulcast program hours from CJ ENM alone have doubled up in the last few years.”
Mr. Se-jung Jang, General Manager of Studio Dragon, said, “Encounter is a culmination of our unflinching commitment to quality production, from a star-studded cast, over a month of intensive on-location filming in Cuba, in the Caribbean, to our expert producing director and script writer. By leveraging Viu’s OTT platform, we believe we can maximize our reach to viewers, enabling them to enjoy Encounter anytime, anywhere.”