Warner Bros. Discovery and CJ ENM have announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership that will bring Korean streaming platform Tving to international markets for the first time. The agreement, revealed on Thursday, focuses on content production and distribution designed to expand the global reach of Korean dramas through a dedicated Tving-branded hub on HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery's US-based subscription streaming service.
The Tving hub is scheduled to launch in early 2026 and will be accessible across 17 Asia-Pacific markets, including Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. HBO Max subscribers in these regions will gain access to premieres of Tving's newest K-drama titles, along with existing scripted and unscripted entertainment content from both CJ ENM and Tving's extensive library. This marks a significant milestone for Tving, which launched in 2020 as CJ ENM's affiliated streaming platform and has never before expanded beyond South Korea.
While the full hub won't be available until 2026, audiences can start experiencing select content as early as November. The thriller romance series "Dear X," starring popular actress Kim You-jung, will debut on November 6 as part of this early rollout. Additionally, the two companies have committed to co-investing and co-producing original Korean dramas specifically for global distribution on HBO Max, though further details about the content lineup and specific programming will be announced in the coming months.
Tving's international expansion comes as Korean streaming services face intense competition in their domestic market. According to analytics firm WiseApp Retail's June report on Korean iOS and Android users, Netflix dominates with 13.93 million users and a 40 percent market share. Coupang Play holds second place with 21 percent (7.32 million users), followed by Tving with 17 percent (5.73 million users), Wavve with 7 percent (2.53 million users), and Disney+ with 6 percent (1.9 million users). Watcha, which launched in Japan in 2020, ranks eighth with just 2 percent market share and 530,000 users.
Among major Korean streaming platforms, only a few have previously ventured into international markets. Wavve's Kocowa service debuted in the United States in 2017, and Watcha expanded to Japan in 2020. A Tving official confirmed that global expansion is the platform's primary focus for 2025, with strategic efforts targeting both Asian and North American markets.
Meanwhile, the Korean streaming landscape continues to evolve as Tving and Wavve have been pursuing a merger since 2023. The proposed combination aims to unite their content libraries and strengthen their competitive position against international giants like Netflix. In June, South Korea's Fair Trade Commission granted conditional approval for the merger, requiring both platforms to maintain their current subscription rates through 2026 as part of the approval conditions.
