BTS and Seventeen Concert Films are heading to Rakuten Viki

A collection of concert films featuring K-Pop icons BTS and Seventeen will be available worldwide starting next week on Asian streaming platform Rakuten Viki.

An agreement between agency company Hybe Corp. and Rakuten Viki will feature a series of nine concert films, variety shows and documentaries starting July 5, starting with “BTS Speak Yourself in Seoul Final.”

While the content deals are not exclusive, the deal marks the first time Rakuten Viki has partnered with Hybe to bring its K-Pop content to the platform. Rakuten Viki also claims to be the largest streaming destination for Asian content globally, with 90 million users, potentially putting Hybe’s content in front of larger fan bases than smaller, interest-oriented streamers or the big general interest streamers. Rakuten Viki operates a hybrid business model with ad-supported free viewing (AVOD) and premium (SVOD) tiers.

BTS concert films in particular are a hot sector. In July 2022, Walt Disney Corp signed with Hybe for a series of five products, including concert films and a BTS travel show. In May, Korean joint venture wA announced a deal with Hybe for BTS and Seventeen shows to play on US-based streamer KOCOWA+.

“It’s clear that the popularity of K-pop will continue to grow, so we’re excited to release this offering on Rakuten Viki from two of the most popular K-pop bands in the world, BTS and Seventeen. There is a great need among both K-pop fans and fans of Asian entertainment to stream this genre of content,” said Hong Jaehee, SVP of content at Rakuten Viki.

Concert films “BTS Love Yourself in New York” and “BTS Break the Silence: The Movie” will be uploaded to Rakuten Viki starting July 8. Series “Nana Tour With Seventeen” will be uploaded on July 22 and “In the Soop Seventeen 2” on August 2. Movie, “Seventeen Ode to You in Seoul will be uploaded from August 9. Series, “BTS Break the silence: Docu Series” will be uploaded on August 16, while “BTS Bring the Soul: Docu Series” will be uploaded on August 23.

Part of Japanese e-commerce and internet services group Rakuten, Rakuten Viki has more than 89 million registered users, operates the entertainment news community Soompi and invests in original content through its Viki Originals unit.