New York and Los Angeles – DramaFever and Asian pop culture producer and distributor CJ E&M have entered a multi-year licensing deal. The new agreement will bring top-rated Korean television series and feature films to DramaFever’s OTT digital video network, including eight exclusive K-dramas, at least 10 exclusive new feature films, as well as more than 350 hours of other drama and variety programmes. DramaFever will have distribution rights throughout the U.S. and Canada, with some titles extending into Latin America, along with rights to redistribute through Hulu and iTunes.
“As Korean entertainment continues to grow in popularity and influence around the world and across the U.S., we are committed to partnering with companies across all media platforms to help maximize the reach of our properties, and embracing the loyal fan culture that has developed online, via social media, as well as in person at events like KCON,” said Mark W. Shaw, CEO of CJ E&M America. “DramaFever has established itself as a go-to destination for fans of K-dramas, and is an ideal home for our series and films. We look forward to building and growing this partnership together.”
The availability of this premium content will be marketed by DramaFever beginning with KCON 2015 USA presented by Toyota – CJ E&M’s convention for all things Hallyu that takes place July 31 through August 2 in Los Angeles, CA and August 8 in Newark, NJ. As the event’s exclusive drama category sponsor, DramaFever is partnering with CJ E&M to present a joint screening room at both KCON 2015 in Los Angeles and New York, where some of the titles that will be available to DramaFever’s audience of more than 20 million monthly viewers will be featured. These include current trending hits Oh My Ghostess and My Beautiful Bride. The screening room at KCON in L.A. will also feature special live appearances from the Director GO Min Gum and star SON Ho Jung (Reply 1994) of Mr. Baek the Homemade Food Master, a new show debuting on Dramafever that has quickly developed a rabid audience base. Contests and quizzes will take place after the screenings, and fans will be able to take selfies with life-sized cutouts of their favorite drama actors.
“We’re delighted to partner with CJ E&M on this multi-year deal. DramaFever’s mission has always been to bring the best TV Shows and Movies from around the world to our viewers and we’re doing just that.” said President and Co-founder of DramaFever, Suk Park. “The growth of the Korean entertainment movement has been astonishing, as can be seen by the influence and popularity of K-Dramas and K-Pop music beyond Korea, throughout Asia, and into North and South America. We are excited to add CJ E&M’s highly rated TV shows and critically acclaimed movies to DramaFever’s line-up, and to be connecting with fans of this genre, in person, as part of KCON 2015.”
