Studio Dragon (253450.KQ) reported first-quarter revenue of 155.3 billion won, up 16.0% from a year earlier, the company said Wednesday. Operating profit for the same period rose 50.1% to 6.4 billion won.
The earnings growth was driven by an increase in the number of episodes aired on television and over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Through titles such as "Undercover Miss Hong," "Beloved Thief," "Siren," and "I'll Give You the Universe," the combined number of TV and OTT episodes rose by 32 from a year earlier to a total of 91. In particular, TV episodes climbed 60% to 64 from 40 a year earlier. As a result, programming revenue grew 45.5% year-on-year to 48.4 billion won, driving both top-line expansion and profitability.
Original productions targeting global OTT platforms also increased by a total of 8 episodes year-on-year, lifting overseas revenue by 25.5% from the same period a year earlier. However, profitability declined from the previous quarter due to the absence of major tentpole titles and reduced pre-sales of TV-programmed works to global OTT platforms.
Studio Dragon plans to accelerate platform diversification in the second quarter, including terrestrial broadcasters, global OTT services, and Tving. Its Tving original "Yumi's Cells Season 3" has ranked first in Tving's weekly paid subscriber contribution for three consecutive weeks, and has also topped Rakuten Viki — which services the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — for two consecutive weeks, continuing its global success. In addition, tvN's "Undercover Audit," which premiered last month, surpassed a peak viewership rating of 9% and has been gaining traction on overseas OTT platform rankings. The Disney+ original "Gold Land" has also entered the top 10 of Disney+'s global TV show category.
In the second quarter, content supply to terrestrial channels will also ramp up, including the Tving original "The Legendary Cook Soldier," SBS's "Brave New World," and MBC's "Fifty Percent." Japanese Netflix original "Soul Mate" and other titles are also scheduled for release through global OTT platforms. The company also plans to continue strengthening its intellectual property (IP) value-up strategy, including expansion of commerce businesses based on the performance of hit titles.
