CJ ENM and Studio Dragon each possess expertise in content planning and development, fundraising, production, and distribution. Line Digital Frontier's strength lies in the intellectual property (IP) rights secured through "LINE Manga." The company is invested in by Naver Webtoon, a subsidiary of Korean internet service giant NAVER, which handles webtoon services.
CJ ENM expects that by leveraging these strengths, the new company will be able to produce differentiated content from Japanese dramas and achieve hits in a short period.
The Japanese content market, encompassing manga, movies, and animation, was valued at approximately $191.3 billion (about 24.82 trillion yen) in 2021, making it the third largest in the world after the United States and China. However, Japanese dramas are primarily produced domestically, led by terrestrial broadcasters, with few works tailored for global video streaming services that favor large-scale productions.
Kang Cheol-gu, who oversees CJ ENM's drama business in Japan, stated that the new company will serve as a hub for collaboration between talented Japanese and Korean creators and an entry point for competitive content to advance globally. He added, "We will produce premium dramas targeting new channels, including global OTT (video streaming services)."
Upon the establishment of the new company in Japan, CJ ENM will possess a total of four production studios.