Netflix’s Money Bomb Attracts A-List Actors With 1 Billion Won Per Episode Appearance Fee

Despite facing backlash from traditional broadcasting stations, Netflix is utilizing its vast financial resources to attract renowned actors and writers, creating a money bomb effect. The rise of global OTTs such as Netflix and Disney+ has made it challenging for broadcasting stations to compete and produce high-quality dramas.

According to reports, Netflix is currently in talks for a project featuring Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo with a budget estimated at 80 billion won. The series is said to be a period drama set in the 1980s, showcasing the rise of the Korean entertainment industry. This project also marks the return of renowned writer Noh Hee-kyung after a two-year break.

The production scale and budget of this project is truly astounding. An incredible amount of 3 billion won is being invested into each episode, resulting in a total budget of 80 billion won.

The production of “Squid Game Season 2″on Netflix is currently in its final stages. This highly anticipated K-drama is set to make history as the first of its kind with a budget of 100 billion won. Reports state that lead actor Lee Jung-jae is earning 1 billion won per episode for his role.

Netflix has high hopes for Korean content, including the highly anticipated “Squid Game Season 2”. In fact, CEO Reed Hastings has committed to investing even more in Korean content, stating, “Our investment in Korea is ongoing, and we have only just embarked on our journey with the top creative partners in Korea.”

Netflix is anticipated to launch approximately 26 Korean dramas and movies this year alone. “Two Women”starring Kim Go-eun and the drama “When Life Gives You Tangerines”featuring IU and Park Bo-gum will also make their debut on Netflix. The production cost for “When Life Gives You Tangerines”is estimated to be 60 billion won.

Disney+ has announced the release date for “Uncle Samsik”as May 15th, marking their biggest production budget since “Moving”. This highly anticipated project also marks the first time famous actor Song Kang-ho will be appearing in an OTT production. According to reports, Disney+ has invested a whopping 40 billion won into “Uncle Samsik”.

Recently, the average production budget per episode was around 300-400 million won. However, with the emergence of global OTT platforms such as Netflix in the Korean market, per-episode production budgets have skyrocketed to 2 billion won.

The majority of the production budget is allocated towards paying actor appearance fees. The entrance of renowned Korean actors into major OTT platforms has greatly increased their “ransom”demands.

According to an industry insider, it has become a common occurrence for well-known actors to request 1 billion won per episode as appearance fees. This is believed to be due to both the high fees offered and the opportunity to make a lasting impact on international audiences, leading to an influx of famous actors on global OTT platforms such as Netflix.

Despite the increase in production costs, many broadcasting stations have significantly decreased their drama production. This has resulted in the temporary suspension of most Wednesday-Thursday dramas, as well as a reduction in mini-series and even Monday-Tuesday dramas. The number of domestic channels airing dramas has also decreased, from approximately 141 in 2022 to 123 last year and around 100 this year, representing a decrease of about 30~40%.

Despite being popular domestic OTT platforms, both TVING and Wavve have significantly decreased their investments in dramas. There are even rumors that Wavve will not be releasing any new dramas this year.