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The multi-channel network (MCN) market, which manages internet broadcast influencers, is undergoing restructuring. Moving away from the past approach of broadly securing creators across various fields, there is a growing number of 'specialized MCNs' focusing on specific areas such as short-form content, virtual avatars, and internet broadcasting. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among MCNs are also occurring frequently. Industry analysts suggest that the MCN market is being reorganized around operators who have established expertise in their respective fields.
According to relevant industry sources on the 7th, business restructuring through M&A between MCNs has continued steadily since last year. In July last year, Stellalive, a domestic virtual YouTuber (VTuber) specialized MCN, was acquired by Brave Group, a Japanese VTuber IP production company. Suni Entertainment, which primarily manages broadcasters affiliated with AfreecaTV and Chzzk, also merged with Yeojin Entertainment in March last year.
Earlier this year, KOSDAQ-listed Episode Company acquired Studio Episode, the leading domestic YouTube content producer by exposure. Studio Episode holds numerous channels with cumulative views exceeding 100 million, including those of Choi Sung-hoon, Kang Hyung-wook, and Ju Woo-jae. Carrysoft, which has been developing its business centered on children's content, plans to secure an MCN network through this acquisition, expand into new content areas, and strengthen its e-commerce capabilities.
The background for MCNs pursuing mergers is to achieve economies of scale. MCNs with a small number of creators inevitably face limitations in the campaign scale they can propose to advertisers and their bargaining power over advertising rates. There are also cost burdens associated with individually building infrastructure required for content production, such as filming, editing, and live commerce. Conversely, when multiple MCNs merge, they can expand both their creator pool and advertiser network while jointly utilizing production infrastructure. This creates a structure that enables cost reductions, such as lowering fixed costs in content production.
The growth of the online advertising market is also cited as a background supporting the expansion of MCN scale. According to the '2025 Broadcasting and Communication Advertising Expenditure Survey' by the Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corporation (KOBACO), online advertising expenditure in 2024 reached 10.1011 trillion won, an increase of 7.9% from the previous year. Online advertising accounted for nearly 60% of the total advertising market, with most of the market growth absorbed by online advertising.
Industry observers view MCNs as growing in size to secure larger-scale advertising campaigns and expand their market influence within this expanding online advertising market.
An industry official stated, "MCNs that have secured competitiveness in specific areas, such as short-form content or virtual avatars, are recently becoming targets for mergers and acquisitions (M&A). By maintaining their respective expertise while expanding the creator pool and advertiser network through mergers, they can gain advantages in securing large-scale campaigns and utilizing infrastructure."
As specialized MCNs in fields such as short-form content, virtual avatars, and internet broadcasting secure scale through M&A, the likelihood of them emerging as leading players in their respective sectors has increased. In the future, how effectively each specialized area combines expertise with scale is expected to become the key variable in competition among MCNs.
An industry official remarked, "The market has become one where simply securing a large number of creators is no longer sufficient to maintain competitiveness. Those who have accumulated expertise in specific areas and subsequently secured scale through M&A are highly likely to emerge as the winners of this restructuring."
[MoneyToday Startup Media Platform Unicorn Factory]
in FUTURE
