SOOP ESG2023

Platform

The Pioneer of the One-Person Media Platform

SOOP began its live streaming broadcasting business in earnest in 2005 and has provided experience differentiated from traditional media. Unlike traditional media that delivers content in a one-way, SOOP allows anyone to create their own content and communicate with viewers in real time using PC and mobile device without special equipment or costs.

As a result, there appear new, free and creative forms of broadcast content, such as ‘Game Streaming,’ ‘Sports Commentary,’ and ‘Study With Me.’ Particularly, ‘Mukbang’(eating shows), where people communicate while eating food in real-time, began as a trend at SOOP and has since gained worldwide popularity. SOOP, which has created new values such as the culture of one-person media platform and streamers and gift economy, has proven its high potential by being selected as one of Asia’s top 200 promising companies by Forbes in 2019.

Since then, SOOP has continued to grow steadily to become the largest live platform in Korea and will strive to create media culture that supports individual stories and the value they create, working to establish a media culture that respects everyone’s individuality and strengths.

(As of December 31, 2023)

(As of December 31, 2023)

Leading Broadcast Sponsorship Culture,
Donation-Based Economy System

SOOP has been focusing on building a new business model in which streamers and users can participate together. In 2007, a year after the official opening of the multimedia personal broadcasting service ‘afreeca,’ SOOP introduced the world’s first one-person media sponsorship system, ‘Star Balloon.’ Unlike traditional media that relied solely on advertising revenue, ‘Star Balloon’ was a revolutionary way for streamers to generate revenue by directly receiving donation from their fans. This sponsorship system based on ‘fandom’ promotes two-way communication between viewers and streamers, enabling viewers to continuously support streamers, and streamers to plan unique and creative content by challenging themselves with more diverse content. ‘Subscription’ is a form of regular sponsorship for streamers, which allows fans to gain instant access to their favorite streamers’ broadcasts at any time without video ads and enjoy additional benefits such as PersonaCons and emoticons only available to subscribed fans. Functional items such as ‘Stickers’ and ‘Quick Views’ have also been introduced. The sales from this platform recorded KRW 259 billion in 2023, accounting for more than 70% of SOOP’s total sales, and this platform is playing a key role in the growth of the platform sector.

Content

Diversity of Streamers and Contents

On SOOP, where anyone can become an owner, a wide array of streamers from various backgrounds are actively engaged.

From the oldest person born in 1941 to people belonging to social minorities such as North Korean defectors, foreigners living in Korea, and sexual minorities, streamers communicate with viewers through content reflecting their individuality and convey their messages to society. The diversity of streamers makes SOOP’s content more colourful. SOOP offers a wide range of categories, including but not limited to talk shows, gaming, mukbang/cookbang, variety shows, pet content, sports, music, education, and hobbies that cater to viewers’ various preferences.

In addition, SOOP’s content is created together by everyone participating in the streaming through real-time communication. On SOOP, the public and celebrities build an equal relationship, almost as co-creators. The culture, which enables the creation of new stories and content through constant interactions between celebrities and the public, strengthens SOOP’s community.

• Game
• Minecraft
• League of Legends
• Starcraft
• PUBG

• Entertainment & Others
• Variety&
  Talk show
• Virtual
• Music
• Mukbang

• Sports
• Billiards
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Fishing

Professional Sports Broadcasting

SOOP has secured broadcasting rights for various sports events, including the Olympics, World Cup, WWE, and AFC, to provide professional broadcasting content.

In 2023, SOOP presented a variety of sports broadcasting content including co-production of youth football competition, the Hangzhou Asian Games, the Korea Baseball Organization(KBO) League, and the Korean Basketball League(KBL). SOOP experienced its highest concurrent viewership of approximately 730 thousand during the football final match at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The distinct characteristics of SOOP’s sports broadcasting content are that it is free and unconstrained by format. Particularly, the ‘Sports Commentary’ content has become a popular genre on SOOP and other platforms, attracting the attention of sports fans with its professional-level commentary and the good humor of streamers supporting a particular team. In addition, SOOP has contributed to the revitalization and expansion of various sports by hosting and broadcasting live amateur sports competition events such as youth sports, badminton, futsal, and billiards, which are difficult to access in Korea and abroad.

• 2023 U-20 World Cup
  Live Broadcast
• 2022 Hangzhou Asian
  Games Live Broadcast
• 2023 WBC Live
  Broadcast

Original Content

SOOP provides live and VOD original contents that are produced and directed by us targeting various categories such as games, entertainment, web dramas, music, education, pet content, and more. We continue to invest in various content with fresh ideas, aiming to achieve a quality comparable to regular broadcast or cable TV programs.

In 2023, we focused on creating influencer-participating and community-based original content. Since the release of our first eSports original content, ‘I Awoke to Find That I Am a Trainee’, in February, other eSports-related content, such as ‘Lol Marble’, ‘Master’, and ‘Gamelife Talk’, has been continuously produced to attract new users and generate interest in eSports. In particular, ‘Master,’ a reality survival content with a prize of KRW 100 million, recorded 30 thousand cumulative viewers in less than a month after its release.

‘Streamer Match’, which has steadily grown in popularity for 10 years since 2014, is an amateur eSports league where SOOP’s popular streamers compete in various eSports events, and is SOOP’s representative original content. The number of leagues increases every year, and as of 2023, it has expanded to 13 games, including League of Legends, Battlegrounds, StarCraft, Tekken, and Sudden Attack. Over the past 10 years, the cumulative number of participating streamers has reached 10 thousand and the cumulative number of viewers has reached 400 million.

SOOP’s role is not limited in hosting and managing eSports leagues; we also provide integrated services across all areas from production to broadcasting by utilizing our own infrastructure such as the studio. To better convey the excitement and liveliness of professional-level leagues, we actively utilize large professional eSports stadiums such as ‘Sangam Colosseum’ and ‘Jamsil Vita500 Colosseum.’ Additionally, we produce various content by hosting small-scale matches and our own amateur eSports leagues at ‘Samsungdong Freec UP Studio.’

Furthermore, to support the growth of the eSports industry, SOOP has worked to contribute to the formalization and expansion of eSports by fostering national pro teams and striving to establish a healthy gaming culture.

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eSports Leagues

• Vita500 Colosseum
• Sangam Colosseum
• KWANGDONG FREECS
• Original Content - Music, Sports, Entertainment, etc

Live Commerce

Live commerce is a compound word of live streaming and commerce and refers to shopping by communicating with sellers online in real time.

SOOP has been active in the live commerce field since 2022. Users participating in live commerce can enjoy shopping as an activity connected to the streamer’s content rather than a one-off purchase thanks to the two-way communication feature of the live media platform.

In 2023, through collaborations with local community organizations and businesses, SOOP contributed to the revitalization of the local economy. For instance, during the ‘Jeju Certified Cosmetics Sales King’ event, we sold cosmetics produced by Jeju cosmetics companies. Additionally, in collaboration with the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center, we supported small businesses with Metaverse live content. Our live commerce content also served as online marketing for SMEs struggling with digital transformation. For example, in April 2023, we hosted the ‘Small Business Hope Project’ content, ‘Money, Donation, UP!,’ featuring popular streamers to sell and support products from small businesses.

• Jeju Certified Cosmetics Sales King Content
• Money, Donation, UP!

Ads

SOOP’s advertising business continues to grow through successful collaborations with streamers and companies, and through this, we are seeking to diversify our business model. With efficient advertising options including platform/content advertising that leverages the power of live social media and big data-based solutions, we provide users with new content to enjoy and streamers with opportunities to generate additional revenue.

Platform Advertisement

Within SOOP’s platform, advertisements are carried out using inventories, mainly on mobile application and PC pages. Advertising options include banner and keyword search ads, video ads that play when watching video, as well as participatory ads that incorporate SOOP’s unique donation culture. In 2021, SOOP had the foundation for the growth of platform advertising by launching an open advertising platform that can maximize advertising efficiency through real-time bidding and ad effectiveness analysis and is promoting the growth of platform advertising by adding additional advertising products.

• In-stream Ads
• Banners Ads
• Catch Ads

• Ad-balloons Ads

Content Advertisement

SOOP’s branded-content advertising, which has recently garnered attention, encourages user engagement by fostering a shared connection with brands through content created by streamers. By utilizing various forms of content advertising, such as communication-based live branded content and streamer collaboration-based branded videos, we are enhancing marketing effectiveness and boosting viewer engagement and satisfaction. Branded-content advertising is evolving into areas like eSports league production and live commerce, leveraging the strength of SOOP’s robust community and this expansion is expected to see significant growth in the future.

Ads Management Solution

SOOP’s Ad Management Platform is an ad solution that is designed to help advertisers and agencies run their ads more efficiently. With SOOP’s ad management solution, advertisers can target specific streamers or over 70 different categories, including gaming, sports, and mukbang. It also maximizes ad efficiency by predicting and analyzing real-time user reactions to ads based on big data and machine learning.

SOOP’s ad management solution takes a Real Time Bidding(RTB) system with Second Price Auction, which allows advertisers to buy ads at a more affordable price. In a second price auction, a person, who bids the highest price, wins the bid at the second highest price, which allows the advertiser to run the ad with a lower budget than expected. This method improves advertising accessibility not only to large advertisers but also to SMEs, providing a versatile advertising solution that accommodates companies of various sizes.

Sustainable Growth of Ad Service