[비즈한국] Discussions regarding the reorganization of the Over-The-Top (OTT) industry are stirring once again. Following the submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) by content recommendation platform Kinolights for the acquisition of Watcha, which is currently undergoing corporate rehabilitation, Content Wavve (Wavve) announced on the same day the appointment of Lee Yang-ki, former head of the OTT Competitiveness Reinforcement Task Force at CJ ENM035760, as its new CEO. With the integration discussions between TVING and Wavve remaining stalled for a long period, the simultaneous spotlight on the Watcha sale and the leadership change at Wavve has brought renewed attention to the path of the OTT industry's reorganization.
Watcha entered rehabilitation procedures on August 4, 2025, following a decision by the 17th Division of the Seoul Rehabilitation Court. A court-led sale process is currently underway, which will proceed through open competitive bidding, due diligence, final bidding, selection of a preferred bidder, and the signing of a final agreement. The market estimates Watcha's corporate value to be around 10 billion KRW.
This sale process has become a clear competitive landscape between strategic investors, with Kinolights joining the previously known participation of CJ ENM. While CJ ENM's LOI submission was reported at the end of March, the confirmed participation of Kinolights has re-emerged the Watcha sale as a key variable in the domestic OTT business reorganization, moving beyond a simple rehabilitation sale.
Appointed as the new CEO of Wavve on April 1, Lee Yang-ki has previously served as the head of business management at CJ ENM, CFO at TVING, and CFO at Content Wavve. According to Wavve, even before taking office, Lee was tasked with enhancing the combined value of Wavve and TVING. He spearheaded the supply of CJ ENM films and tvN dramas, the launch of Wavve-TVING bundled products and ad-supported plans, and the mutual supply of original content between the two companies. The appointment of an executive who has managed the practical aspects of collaboration between Wavve and TVING is interpreted as a move to accelerate the stagnant integration discussions.
The combination of TVING and Wavve is already subject to review by competition authorities. In its 2025 briefing on corporate merger review trends, the Korea Fair Trade Commission cited the 'concurrent serving of executives between TVING and Wavve' as a major case where corrective measures were imposed. However, the integration discussions have not yet reached the final stage. Amidst this situation, with Wavve changing leadership on one side and CJ ENM and Kinolights participating in the Watcha sale on the other, attention is focused on whether the domestic OTT market will lean toward 'integration' or 'competitive restructuring'.