In South Korea, Squid Game’s success could cost Netflix dearly

Yes Squid Game has established itself as the series of the moment since its release on September 17, 2021, it could cost Netflix dearly. Indeed, the streaming platform is threatened by a South Korean access provider. The latter filed a lawsuit against her, this Friday, October 1.

Netflix, sued over Squid Game?

With the growing success of Squid Game worldwide, on its way to becoming the most watched series of all time on Netflix, internet traffic in South Korea has exploded. And who says increase in internet traffic means increase in costs. To say the least, South Korean internet service providers don’t really like it …

This is particularly the case of SK Broadband. Indeed, she opened a lawsuit against Netflix. She wants the streaming platform to contribute to this cost increase, for which she is responsible. This dispute comes at the right time. South Korean lawmakers and courts have recently ruled that content providers should pay for internet use.

In support of his point, SK Broadband said that Netflix’s use of its network has increased 24-fold in just three years. Indeed, if in May 2018, the traffic generated by Netflix was 50 gigabits per second, it rose to 1,200 gigabits per second in September 2021.

In South Korea, Netflix is ​​therefore the second largest generator of traffic. just after YouTube. And unlike other content producers like Amazon, Apple or Facebook, it pays no network usage fees to SK Broadband.

Faced with this new problem, As fans of the show harass a South Korean 40-year-old, the streaming platform claimed to do everything to ensure that ISP customers are not affected by this increase in traffic.

Generator of benefits in South Korea

SK Broadband charges around 20 million euros per year from the platform. But Netflix thwarts by saying its investment in content production in South Korea is beneficial. This would have brought a socio-economic benefit of around 4 billion euros. What to compensate for the rise in costs, according to her.

In addition, the streaming platform estimates that its arrival in 2016 has created 16,000 jobs. A figure not to be overlooked …

Finally, with the success of Squid Game, this is the first time that a South Korean production has been among the best series on Netflix. We imagine that this feat will open the door to even more South Korean productions. A virtuous circle, in short.