Streaming giant Netflix on Friday said it expects to expand its live streaming offerings in South Korea, as it gears up for the BTS Concert Live event scheduled for March 21 in Seoul.
BTS The Comeback Live | Arirang will be streamed live from Seoul’s historic Gwanghwamun Square, with fans across the world expected to tune in.
The one-hour event will be streamed across more than 190 countries, marking the band’s first global showcase following their nearly four-year hiatus for solo projects and compulsory military service. In India, fans can catch the comeback show at 4.30pm on Netflix.
Netflix management is hoping that the Saturday BTS event will be “a spectacle unlike anything we've seen before,” said Brandon Riegg, the streamer’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports.
He added, “I would imagine that with our commitment to partnering with our producers in Korea, there will be many other opportunities for other live events… We have some things perhaps in the works I can't speak to right now.”
Netflix will continue to ramp up its investment in South Korea, Riegg said, as the platform strengthens its infrastructure to support more live events.
“Korean culture, Korean entertainment, which is so beloved, clearly just makes it an obvious choice to continue deepening that partnership,” Riegg said.
On Friday, BTS dropped their first music video for the song Swim from their album Arirang, marking their much-anticipated comeback as a group after 2022.
Other tracks of the Arirang album include titles like Body to Body, Hooligan, Aliens, FYA, 2.0, No. 29, Merry Go Round, NORMAL, Like Animals, they don’t know ’bout us, One More Night, Please, and Into the Sun.
Netflix on Tuesday also dropped a trailer for an upcoming documentary chronicling their long-awaited return with their fifth studio album. The documentary is set to release on March 27.