Following the latest VOD and OTT company M&E earnings, subscriber reports, and layoffs, one of the observations is that content acquisition budgets will shrink worldwide. There are several reasons for this: increased competition, increased production costs due to global price inflation, resulting pressure on studios to reduce costs to maintain profitability, and the concern that Netflix's subscriber loss will spread to other parts of the industry.
Articles in the LA Times , Variety , and Deadline support the notion that contraction is coming, corporate debt will reduce production budgets, and consumer purchase preferences changing as the economy and market evolve. Other articles highlight the critical importance of global distribution on corporate revenues in the years to come, albeit at a slower pace, and the opportunities content creators will have by expanding into foreign markets. However, the question becomes, what must content creation and distribution companies do to lead in the marketplace or remain competitive?
There are many ways to approach answering this question. Still, the one that is the most straightforward from the content perspective requires knowing your audience, the story, and all the necessary nuances within it essential to impart it in different languages and to other cultures. And in recent years, the industry has improved, most noticeably in titles coming out of South Korea.
" Parasite ," " Squid Game ," and " Pachinko " exemplify the importance of localization and culturalization in preparing a title for international release. "Parasite's" director Bong Joon Ho famously spoke about the importance of a subtitle's "one-inch-tall barrier" to understanding and enjoying foreign films. "Squid Game" received much criticism for inaccurate subtitles and audio dubs. Many people living outside of Korea were uncertain they watched the same story Korean audiences saw—but millions watched it anyway. To reflect dialect and cultural differences, "Pachinko" uses color-coded subtitles to indicate who is speaking and highlight the differences between Korean and Japanese languages and customs portrayed in the story.
Adapting to Market Demands & Audience Expectations
It's important to note the effect of how, in the three short years since "Parasite's" release, the Korean film industry has realized that depicting language and culture integral to the story as accurately as possible enhances audience understanding, support, and acceptance significantly. Because of their dedication to maintaining story integrity, they have taken the time to understand their target markets, study how the script translates into each one, and have accepted the amount of work necessary to incorporate that understanding into a final, localized release. That is a lot of work requiring tremendous insights into audiences, and it has paid off in industry recognition, revenue, and watched minutes.
The benefit to the audience is they believe that despite the language and cultural differences, the story they're watching is the same one the director and writer intended. How Korean directors have achieved this objective and the resulting success is an example for others to follow. The good news is the knowledge and tools necessary to prepare any title, new or catalog, for international release are available today for content or distribution companies. Spherex offers a cultural playbook for content markets worldwide that can assist companies in preparing titles for international release quickly and are applicable during any production phase. Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation.
