Netflix continues to dominate the South Korean online video or over-the-top (OTT) streaming market, but Coupang Play gained over 300,000 new users last month, driven by live broadcasts of major international sporting events such as the Premier League.
According to app analytics firm Wiseapp Retail Goods on September 3, the number of Coupang Play's monthly active users (MAU) reached 7.73 million in August, an increase of 330,758 from the previous month's 7.39 million. This puts Coupang Play in second place among all OTT service providers operating in South Korea, second only to Netflix with 14.57 million users.
Data from the Mobile Index of the data tech company IGAWorks also showed growth: Coupang Play recorded 7.29 million MAUs in August, an increase of 6 percent compared to 6.89 million in the previous month.
Coupang Play attributed the increase to exclusive sports content and the popularity of the second season of its original series "Office Workers". The platform streamed exclusive coverage of the English Premier League, which launched last month, as well as other major European soccer leagues and Formula 1. In September, the platform will further expand its MAUs by streaming every game of the 2025 National Football League (NFL) season, starting with the Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles game on September 5.
The battle for second place behind Netflix between Coupang Play and Tving remains fierce. According to the Mobile Index, Tving was ahead in August with around 275,000 MAUs. However, according to Wiseapp Retail Goods data, Coupang Play was ahead of Tving with around 1.83 million more MAUs.
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Coupang ( CPNG 8.94 % ) has many similarities with Amazon . The company is revolutionizing e-commerce in South Korea and Taiwan, where it is also showing strong growth potential outside its home market of Korea. It may seem difficult for another e-commerce giant to rise in Amazon's shadow, but Coupang has advantages.
Coupang's sales rose by 62% to 32 billion US dollars in the last twelve months. In the second quarter, quarterly sales rose by 19% year-on-year in constant currency. The company's profitability also continues to develop positively: gross profit, operating profit and earnings per share increased compared to the same quarter last year. Strong financial results have caused the share price to rise by 30% since the beginning of the year.
This growth reflects the consistent expansion of the product range and automation to improve delivery speed. The company offers same-day delivery of a huge selection of products to millions of customers in densely populated cities, giving it a competitive advantage.
One business area with great growth potential is supply growth. This includes food delivery and streaming entertainment. Sales of these products increased by 33% year-on-year - significantly faster than product sales. This shows that more and more customers are continuing to spend more at Coupang after initially purchasing products via the e-commerce business.
In addition, management pointed out in the last earnings report that development offerings in Taiwan are growing faster than expected. This is a good sign that the company's business model could penetrate more markets outside South Korea, where it can be successful and bring returns to shareholders.
Coupang is essentially becoming the default app that 24 million active customers rely on to buy goods, food and digital entertainment. The app's continued track record of high double-digit growth rates and promising international expansion potential could make it a big winner for investors in the long term.
