First on CNN: BTS is coming to Disney in a major streaming deal

Why did the musical group BTS become so popular? 2:25 (CNN Business) — Disney is listing BTS on its streaming services, adding the world’s biggest band to its roster of digital stars. In an announcement first shared with CNN Business, the entertainment giant said Monday that it would add new original shows featuring members of the South Korean pop group to Disney+. That will result in five new titles with HYBE, BTS’s management company. The firm was previously known as Big Hit Entertainment. At least two of the new titles will be filmed with the entire band, including a concert special taped in Los Angeles and a behind-the-scenes documentary series. Disney expects the latter to debut next year. In a recorded video message shared with CNN Business, the band members said they were looking forward to showing fans “a more up close and personal side of us.” BTS has enjoyed meteoric success in recent years, attracting legions of fans from around the world known as the “ARMY”. Recently, however, the seven-member group announced that they would be taking a break to explore various projects, including some solo projects. Korean pop band BTS takes a hiatus 1:17 The new alliance with Disney reflects that. An upcoming title is a reality show that will see BTS star V go on vacation with other Korean celebrities, the company said. The band’s documentary will also take a look at their daily lives “as they prepare for their second chapter,” Disney and HYBE said in a joint statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move shows how Disney (DIS) is focusing on top-tier talent as it continues to go after Netflix (NFLX) and capitalizes on the recent wave of popularity around Korean content and culture. Last year, for example, people around the world raved about “Squid Game,” Netflix’s South Korean hit that became the company’s top show globally. Disney said it has also seen success with titles like “Snowdrop,” a Korean series that has recently become one of the most-watched titles in Asia. “This collaboration represents our creative ambition: to work with iconic content creators and top stars in Asia-Pacific so that their talent can be enjoyed by the general public in multiple ways,” said Jessica Kam-Engle, Disney’s director of Asia-Pacific content. , it’s a statement. “We believe these new titles will captivate consumers around the world and look forward to introducing more music content to our service.” The move is part of a major expansion into Asian content announced by the company last October. It plans to greenlight more than 50 original titles from the region by 2023. The Hollywood giant said at the time that it was commissioning new shows from South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Indonesia. Many of the programs will be presented in local languages, from Bahasa Indonesia to Mandarin. Netflix has also been pouring money into original Asian-language content and touting the worldwide success of its Korean and Japanese-language shows in particular. But the company’s shares have come under pressure in recent months after it revealed in April that it had lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. The news reignited the debate about the long-term prospects for the streaming industry. Investors, however, seem calmer about Disney. The company said in its most recent earnings presentation in May that it had added more Disney+ subscribers than expected during the latest quarter, bringing its total to 137.7 million.