The streaming giant on Monday unveiled a three-year licensing deal with South Korean cable TV network JTBC. Under the partnership, which begins at the start of 2020, Netflix will acquire the worldwide streaming rights to more than 20 Korean-language drama series titles produced and aired by JTBC.
The deal comes hot on the heals of a similar three-year partnership Netflix unveiled last week with Seoul-based Studio Dragon, another producer of popular K-drama series. That deal entailed more than 21 K-drama titles heading to Netflix, including both licensed shows and several originals that Studio Dragon will develop and produce for the streamer.
With established Hollywood rivals like Disney now hoarding their IP for their own direct-to-consumer offerings, Netflix appears to be hurrying to further establish itself as a go-to destination for Korean drama — a recognition of the growing global popularity of the genre's glossy hit shows. The new JTBC deal is an extension of a licensing agreement Netflix signed with the company in 2017. That earlier pact gave Netflix access to JTBC's library of 600 hours of scripted and unscripted TV shows. Since then, according to the two companies, several of JTBC's shows — such as