DramaFever, CJ E&M in drama copro pact

K-drama-focused OTT service DramaFever is entering into an agreement with Asian content group CJ Entertainment & Media to coproduce dramas for a global audience.

CJ E&M’s drama subsidiary, Studio Dragon, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Warner Bros.-owned DramaFever to create Korean dramas.

This will lead to the development and production of two originals within the next three years, and discussions on how existing films and television dramas can be remade.

DramaFever first moved into original production last year.

Studio Dragon was established in May as CJ E&M looked to bolster its international profile. The prodco has since looked to work with OTT services, saying “we have the knowledge of global demand for Korean dramas”.

“Studio Dragon is determined to become Asia’s number one drama studio, and in order to reach the goal, we plan to work with industry leaders home and abroad to provide unrivaled content for audience,” said Jinnie Choi, president of Studio Dragon.

“We’re bolstering our competitiveness in content development, story-telling and production through various international partnerships and co-production deals.”

Warner Bros. Television Group’s president of business and strategy, Craig Hunegs, announced the MOU during a keynote speech at the Broadcast World Wide 2016 event in Seoul, South Korea, today.

DramaFever and CJ E&M already have a close relationship, having agreed a multiyear agreement handing the streaming service an annual eight ‘K-drama’ scripted series, ten exclusive new movies and more than 350 hours of other drama and variety shows.

Warner Bros. bought DramaFever in February from Japanese investment group SoftBank, which had in turn acquired it in 2014.