Korean TV Content to the Fore at Revived BCWW Convention

Patrick Frater
·3 min read

More than 600 buyers from companies in 30 countries are expected to be in Seoul, South Korea from Wednesday for the in-person return of the Broadcast WorldWide convention, better known as BCWW.

Although BCWW bills itself as Asia’s largest broadcasting content market, given the strength of the Korean wave, much of the focus will be on Korean content and the business of working with Korean companies. Registered buyers and potential partners include Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, PCCW the Hong Kong-based owner of Viu, and China’s iQiyi, all of which have already become purveyors of K-programming.

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“For the past 22 years, BCWW has served as a foundation for K-content to garner the global attention it is getting today,” said Cho Hyun-rae, president of the government-backed Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). He added that he expects KOCCA and BCWW to “provide continuous support for K-content.”

The event, which run Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2022, at the Dondaemun Design Plaza, comprises a familiar mix of product market with booths and meeting rooms; conference sessions that are both in-person and live-streamed hybrids; a product showcase; and pitching sessions and business matching facilities for unmade projects that are seeking finance or partner companies.

Conference sessions are programmed to cover topics including: global content trends; content analysis; the specifics of Korean charm; and the industry’s growth potential.

The conference kicks off with a special session on the current prowess of and potential for the Korean program industry. Though there are many arguments supporting the continued growth of the Korean content industry – these range from the country’s lack of an imperial past, through to the way that Korean-made content dials back sex and violence and a digital focus that allows Korean firms to address Gen-Z – the long-term sustainability of the industry is a subject of recurring concern.

The session will use “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” produced by Astory, broadcast locally by Skylife ENA and streamed internationally by Netflix to continued success, as a starting point for discussion.

Another session will examine the secret sauce behind format sales hit “I Can See Your Voice,” and its localized adaptations. Lessons are also to be shared from “Bang Bang Con,” the online concert collection deployed by K-Pop idols BTS at a time when in-person performance and fan meeting events were not possible, due to COVID restrictions.

Other companies in the BCWW spotlight include Chorokbaem Media, producer of JTBC hit show “My Liberation Diary” (aka “My Liberation Notes”) and The Pinkfong Company of “Baby Shark.”
Mike Beale, the MD of Global Creative Network from ITV Studio, Park Hyun, VP of global business at powerhouse production nexus Studio Dragon, and Park Jun-seo, production manager at revamped studio SLL will be on hand to discuss international cooperation and joint production strategy.

The product showcases will tease new shows including “The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate,” and dating reality show “EXchange Season 2,” that are scheduled to release in the final four months of the year.

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